Ethics in Accounting Essays - Economy, Business, Accounting Scandals

Ethics in Accounting Assessing the Role of Ethics in, and the Impact of Recent Issues on, the Practice of Accounting : An Analysis of Unethical and Illegal Practices Leading to the Downfall of Corporations and Companies By: October 12, 2016 BAF3M Unit 19 & 20 (Accounting Careers and Ethics) Mrs. Hruska Ethics in Accounting An Analysis of Unethical and Illegal Practices Leading to the Downfall of Corporations and Companies The two main jobs of an accountant are to classify and record financial information and to provide useful financial information to assist in decision-making. This information is used by people around the world to make decisions that affect both the company the accountant works for and the person that makes the decisions in the first place. Through the accounting system, it is possible for an accountant or company to purposely change or fake information which could lead to a profit for the company. This practice is both illegal and unethical. In the past 20 years, numerous corporations and companies have been caught by auditors, almost always leading to the bankruptcy of said corporation/company. I will analyze the actions of ENRON, Adelphia Communications, and WorldCom that, in the end, caused significant losses or bankruptcy. Finally, I will discuss possible solutions for these problems, small steps businesses can take to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Enron was an American energy company founded in 1985. It was one of the biggest energy companies ever, claiming to have over 100 billion dollars of revenue. In 2001 it filed for bankruptcy. What went wrong? Well it turns out that Enron was actually hiding billions of dollars in debt in off-the-balance-sheet accounts, accounts that don't need to be shown on the balance sheet. The executives at Enron \"cooked the books\", using loopholes in accounting and poor financial records which eventually lead to the public noticing. In 5 months Enron's stock fell from $90 to $1 and soon after Enron was bankrupt. This caused thousands of people their jobs. The government learned from this and new laws were put in place to make a second Enron scandal more difficult. Adelphia Communications was a cable television company in Pennsylvania. Founded by John Rigas in 1952, it quickly became the fifth largest cable company in all of the United States. Overtime Rigas ' family started other businesses such as the Family-Owned farm, an interior design shop, and a private car dealership. In 2002, John Rigas was sentenced to 15 years in jail at the age of 78 for multiple accounts of fraud including violation of the RICO act, waste of corporate assets, breach of contract, conversion of corporate assets, among others. Soon after, Adelphia went bankrupt. Rigas transferred 2.3 billion dollars in funds from the company to himself. These were made through journal entries that gave Adelphia more debt and the Rigases millions of dollars of cash or other assets at no cost at all. By manipulating the books to meet expectations of auditors, analysts and investors he was also able to inflate the stock price or the company. Revenues from Adelphia were taken from the company and used for the family's personal expenses. Rigas also used the previously mentioned other companies to make fake transactions to his smaller companies that would then go directly to his personal account. For example, Rigas used his car dealership to \"lease\" vehicles to Adelphia at an inflated price; m ost of the time Adelphia wouldn't even receive the vehicles. On a balance sheet or income statement , the transaction would look fine , perfectly legal and ethical. However, this transaction was just a method to transfer money from the company to the Rigas family and avoid detection from auditors. Even after all this, Rigas still wanted more money so he would journalize transactions with fake companies . Thereby keeping the accounts in balance ; t aking the money going to the fake companies for himself. During the 1980's, when the telecommunications industry was rising, WorldCom was founded and the corporation steadily increased in size, mainly because of the demand. However, in 2000, WorldCom (and its stock) suffered great losses when its proposed merger with Sprint was denied. To stop further losses CEO Bernard Ebbers decided to \"enhance

China and Argentina Natural Resources Essay

China and Argentina Natural Resources Essay China and Argentina Natural Resources Analysis Essay Example China and Argentina Natural Resources Analysis Essay Example China and Argentina: Beyond the Quest for Natural Resources The relationship between China and Argentina is referred to as Sino-Argentine relations. This relationship was initially difficult to establish due to Argentina’s close proximity to the Unites States and the U.S sphere of influence. Furthermore, Argentina considered China as an unfriendly country due to its Beijing Communist regime. However, the two nations managed to overcome the difficulties mentioned and have established a bilateral relationship, which has blossomed over the years. Consequently, this bilateral relationship has formed a basis for mutual respect and peaceful coexistence between the two nations (Yongnian 34). In addition, this bilateral relationship has witnessed the development and cooperation in various sectors such as agriculture, trade, politics, military, cultural and technological sectors. The most significant reason behind this deepened relationship is China’s economic development, which has grown over time to become one of the world’s lar gest economies. Therefore, the relationship between these two countries is one of integral strategic significance. The states mainly cooperate in areas such as migration, investment, trade, military sphere, science and education, culture and politics. In addition, the nations enjoy close ties in international conferences and organizations. This paper highlights the historical events in the relationship between China and Argentina and critically analyses them. The Major Historical Events between China and Argentina The 1972 Agreement on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations As mentioned above, in the beginning, Argentina was very hesitant about establishing relations with China due to its Beijing communist policy. However, later on Argentina realized the advantages it could receive as a country if it established diplomatic relations with the Asian giant. As a result, the two nations started making plans to achieve this goal (Bell 56). The need to establish political relations between the two states was fuelled by their need for adequate diversity of external links. In addition, both China and Argentina shared similar ideologies in various international forums. Their political relationship was necessary for the purpose of economic growth of both nations. Before 1972, there were a few diplomatic relations between China and Argentina. In 1945, the Latin American and Asian giant entered into initial negotiations aimed at establishing diplomatic ties between them (Wouters, Defraigne, and Burnay 40). However, these negotiated diplomatic ties were not very active while there were not many diplomatic exchanges taking place between them. Despite this fact, 1972 marked the most significant change in China-Argentina diplomatic relations (Brown 27). This is the year when full diplomatic relations were established between the two states. It happened during the China-Argentina negotiations for normalization of diplomatic relations, which took place in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Following the summit meeting between the leaders of China and Argentina in Bucharest, a joint communiquà © by the two countries was held. It was announced that the two governments had signed an agreement to set up diplomatic relations. From the time this announcement was made, the diplomatic ties between the two nations continued to expand, and the states fortified their overall relations. For instance, the political, economic, and cultural ties between China and Argentina have grown rapidly since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1972 (Womack 71). Analysis The new diplomatic relations represented the first landmark in bilateral relations between the two countries. In a move to obtain diplomatic representation of Argentina in China, the Latin American country opened its embassy in Beijing, China’s capital. In addition, to further solidify its diplomatic ties with its Asian partner, Argentina opened a consulate-general in Hong Kong and another in Shanghai (Edwards 85). The establishment of the embassy and the consulate has been very crucial in shaping the present immigration relationship between China and Argentina. At present, Chinese immigrants are the main Asian immigrants to Argentina. Similarly, this diplomatic relations between China and Argentina played a significant role in the establishment of close political ties between the two countries despite their differences in ideological views. These diplomatic ties enabled the two countries to provide support to each other in international forums. For instance, in 1982 China supported Argentina in the Malvinas/Falklands war when it abstained from voting in the United Nations Security Council (Ellis 60). Similarly, Argentina returned the favor by refusing to join the other western countries in imposing sanctions against China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. Lastly, the existence of diplomatic ties has enabled the smooth development of bilateral trade between China and Argentina. There has been an increase in trade activities between Argentina and the Asian giant, a key factor to the economic growth experienced between the two trading partners (Williams 75). One of the reasons behind this deepening economic relationship is better negotiating conditions, which facilitated reaching an understanding between the two economies. Today, Argentina is one of the major trading partners of China in Latin America. With regard to China and Argentina’s diplomatic ties, I think that the main connecting factor between these two countries is the mutual economic benefits. This is supported by the fact that a large percentage of bilateral agreements signed between the two countries mainly consist of trade agreements (Brown 72). Moreover, the two economies are constantly trying to discover new ways of improving and increasing their bilateral trade ties. The Historical Signing of China and Argentina’s First Trade Agreement Before the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1972, the trade between the Latin American and Asian giant had been developing at a slow rate (Hearn and Leon-Manriquez 78). The absence of diplomatic dealings between the two countries was the major obstacle to the development of economic ties as well. As a result, there were very few trade and investment ties between Beijing and Buenos Aires. This was mainly due to the lack of proper trade mechanisms to provide guidance to trade activities between the two nations. With the lack of clear means to control trade activities between them, trade was therefore forced to grow at a snail’s pace. The trade between China and Argentina continued at a slow pace. However, this slow evolution of trade between Argentina and China advanced considerably when the Chinese and Argentine governments entered into negotiations with the aim to improve their trade and investment relationship. These negotiations between the two countries were successful and consequently resulted in the signing of the first bilateral trade agreement between the Government of People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Government of Republic of Argentina in 1977 (Williams 84). Analysis The signing of the first trade agreement between China and Argentina was significant in establishing bilateral trade ties between the two nations. This trade agreement created mutual beneficial economic ties between the two states. Since then, there has been smooth development of bilateral trade ties between the two countries. These bilateral trade ties have reached unprecedented new horizons over time, and today China has become Argentina’s third largest trading partner after South America and the European Union. The two trading partners continuously sign additional trade deals with one another, leading to the growth of the bilateral trade volume. For instance, by 2011 the Chinese and Argentine trade volume rose to $17 billion (Jilberto and Hogenboom 78). To further reinforce economic ties and promote the growth and development of trade with China, Argentina set a trade promotion center in Shanghai in 2000 (Brown 67). The two nations export and import various products between their borders. The export structure from Argentina to China is strongly concentrated on soy products, more explicitly on soy oil and soy beans. Soy beans and soybean oil make up about 76 percent of total exports from the Latin America country to China (U.S. International Trade Commission 45). The other products exported to China from Argentina mainly consist of agro-industrial products. Finally, various bilateral trade agreements signed between China and Argentina are the main reason behind the skyrocketing investment ties between the two countries. They set up various investment enterprises, which played a crucial role in the economic development of both countries. For instance, by the end of 2002, about 28 Chinese-invested enterprises had been registered in Argentina (Schirokauer and Brown 22). These enterprises are mainly involved in economic activities such as processing and production, exploitation of resources, agriculture and fishery. By 2014 the bilateral trade agreements between the two countries had evolved to include investment in hydroelectric power, railway and ship building. In my opinion, the signing of the first trade agreement between China and Argentina was the key factor that opened up trade between them. Without this trade agreement, the economic relationship between the two countries would not have developed to the extent it is today. Argentine President Jorge Rafael Videla’s Historical Visit to China In 1980, Argentina’s President Jorge Rafael Videla paid an official visit to China. It was the first Argentinean official presidential visit to China (Kavalski 87). The visit played a momentous role in the expansion of bilateral relations between China and Argentina. The President’s five day visit to Beijing included official talks with his Chinese counterpart to discuss various matters concerning their diplomatic relations. During these official talks the heads of the states discussed the importance of the need to improve their economic partnership. In addition, President Videla commended China’s people in their efforts to safeguard their sovereignty and develop their economy. The heads of the states signed a comprehensive agreement involving trade, culture and financial cooperation. Since then, China and Argentina have had frequent mutual visits. For instance, since the 1990s, there have been about 50 official visits by government representatives from China and Argentina (Locatelli 90). Analysis President Videla’s state visit to China was historical because it was the first official visit by the Argentina’s President to China. It was an indicator of development of bilateral cooperation between Argentina and China. More specifically, the visit had a great bearing on the expansion of trade between the two countries. Subsequently, after this historical visit the Chinese and Argentine economic relationship underwent rapid development within a short period of time. Consequently, the two economies started to sign various strings of bilateral trade agreements aimed at increasing their economic collaboration (Schirokauer and Brown 45). The two countries had just discovered the fundamental trade benefits for both of them. Since the discovery of the potential mutual benefits that the Chinese and Argentine economic cooperation could provide, the two countries put additional efforts towards the expansion of trade between them. Thus, they tried to find ways to elevate their bilateral trade ties to a new level. They did this by increasing their collaboration in the fields such as fishing, agriculture, mining, animal husbandry and the processing of wine. By exploring these new fields, the two economies were able to enter into various new bilateral trade deals with each other (Yongnian 89). The strong China-Argentina economic collaboration had officially been inaugurated by this entry into new economic fields. Overall, China and Argentina continued to enjoy numerous benefits brought about by their continuously evolving trade partnership over the years. Their bilateral trade relationship has advanced into a variety of new phases over a long period of time. At the moment, the investment and trade ties between China and Argentina have expanded to almost all sectors of economy. In my opinion, President Videla’s visit to the Asian country was a step made by Argentina to obtain China’s favor in terms of trade. It was obvious that Argentina needed China more since its economy was struggling while China was developing into an economic giant at a rapid pace. His visit was therefore aimed at strengthening the economic ties between them for Argentina’s benefit. Chinese President Yang Shangkun’s State Visit to Argentina In 1990, President Yang Shankun visited Argentina at President Carlos Saul Menem’s invitation (Wouters, Defraigne, and Burnay 56). The two presidents held talks in Buenos Aires and signed an agreement to carry out cultural exchanges between their countries. These cultural exchanges have greatly expanded over time to include fields such as art, sports, education, science and technology, and the media. In addition, the two governments signed an agreement on promotion and establishment of joint ventures and political consultation mechanism between them. This agreement resulted in political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two states. Analysis President Yang Shangkun’s state visit to Argentina in 1990 played a considerable role in the integration of Chinese and Argentine culture (Brown 44). The joint efforts of the two sides have greatly expanded cultural interactions. China-Argentine culture has grown to incorporate such fields as art, science and technology, education, film and TV programs. China and Argentina have held several cultural activities to promote each other’s culture. For instance, in October 2000, China held the Beijing Culture Week in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Similarly, Argentina held the Buenos Aires Culture Week in China the following year. Currently, the Chinese culture has grown to become a large part of the modern Argentine culture. For example, the development of a relatively small Chinatown in Buenos Aires is a clear indication of the increased Chinese-Argentine presence. Furthermore, the presence of the Chinese culture has been intensified by the increased use of Mandarin Chinese language (Hearn and Leon-Manriquez 90). A lot of Argentineans study Chinese because of the growing Chinese market and diplomacy in Argentina and around the world. Overall, China-Argentina cultural integration has already been lined into their culture and continues to increase, further bringing the two nations closer. In addition, this visit marked a milestone in the development of bilateral relations between China and Argentina as it broke China’s diplomatic isolation. The China’s communist system of government caused its isolation from the rest of the world. President Yang Shangkun’s state visit to Argentina was very significant in China’s integration into the rest of the world (Locatelli 102). Since then the countries have maintained close bilateral relations and over time their economies have become highly complementary. In my opinion, this visit was a move by China to strengthen its presence in Latin America through Argentina. By visiting Argentina, China aimed to show that it could have friendly relations with Latin Americans and thus to encourage other Latin American countries to establish ties with it, fulfilling its longtime wish to increase its presence in Latin America. Historical China’s Visit of Argentine President Fernando de la Rua In September 2000, Argentine President Fernando de la Rua visited China. The invitation was made by Chinese President Jiang Zemin (U.S. International Trade Commission 23). The head of the state and his delegation were honored at a welcome ceremony hosted by President Jiang. Thereafter, the two presidents held talks with each other covering mainly bilateral ties between their two nations and the ways to provide support to each other. The five day state trip played a significant function in Argentina’s decision to support China’s need to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Consequently, the two governments signed an agreement that resulted in China finally becoming a member of the WTO. It is also important to highlight that the two presidents also signed an agreement on technological cooperation. As a result, a memorandum of understanding between an Argentine Internet company and a Chinese radio station, China Radio International (CRI) was signed in April the following year, which was essential in promoting information technology collaboration. Since the signing of the agreement on technological cooperation between China and Argentina, their collaboration has grown tremendously to include fields such as astronomy, agriculture, and research (Williams 44). Analysis President Fernando de la Rua’s visit to China was important to China’s accession to the WTO. His meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin facilitated negotiations regarding China’s application to the WTO. China had been involved in lengthy negotiations, involving its wish to become a member of the global trade organization. As a result of the meeting, an agreement was finally reached and signed, granting China a membership position in the WTO on December 2001 (Womack 81). The visit was equally significant in the advancement of technological alliance linking the two nations. The signing of the first technological agreement signified the evolution of China and Argentina technological relations. Currently, China and Argentina’s technological ties have advanced to comprise areas in the military, information technology (IT), and in state research institutions, commonly referred to as digital triangles. The trade and investment ties between Beijing and Buenos Aires have deepened over years. Chinese companies are operating freely in Argentina, with businesses ranging from fishery, energy, finance and mineral exploration. Similarly, Argentina carries out several economic activities in China. Today, China has grown to be Argentina’s third largest source of investment and its second largest trading partner (Bell 77). In my opinion, China’s decision to invite Argentina into their country was a calculated move to secure Argentina’s help in achieving their desperate desire to join the World Trade Organization. It is during this visit that an agreement to secure China’s membership in the global trade organization was signed. Therefore, China initiated the visit only to benefit from it and not necessarily to strengthen ties. Conclusion In conclusion, Sino-Argentine relations have greatly expanded since the establishment of diplomatic ties between them in 1972. China and Argentina have continued to enjoy closer relations with each other, which have skyrocketed in recent years. To understand the nature of these relations, one should explore all ties between the two nations. Bilateral relations between China and Argentina involve political, economic and trade, cultural and military ties. Presently, the cooperation between the two nations has deepened and grown to include such areas of collaboration as science and technological advancement in the field medicine, astronomy, research and agriculture. Despite the development of these new areas of cooperation between the two states, their bilateral trade agreements remain the most significant. China and Argentina have entered into numerous bilateral trade agreements over the years, which have proved beneficial for both countries. In order to maintain strong relations betwe en the two countries, it is crucial to continue valuing each other’s role in their respective economies. China has shown how much it values its partnership with Argentina by continuing to trade with the Latin American country despite its visible economic struggles, further strengthening their Sino-Argentine relations.

Campus and the Life Changing Eye Opener Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Campus and the Life Changing Eye Opener - Essay Example This was through a campus  club  known as AIESEC. This experience changed my life profoundly and sparked a level of  awareness  that I  previously  did not have. A good number of the movies I had watched while growing up presented campus as  a place  to have mad fun. Caution  was thrown  to the wind as the students explored and experimented with their lives.  Whereas I am not claiming  conclusively  otherwise, I  feel  that there is a  side  of campus movies the movies totally ignore; the constructive side.  Oblivious of this view of campus, I had joined the  place  when  ready to  experience  the thrills I had seen in the movies.  Out of chance, I had joined this student’s  business  club, AIESEC. The  club  concerns itself with offering a  platform  to develop agents of positive change and leaders, with strong interests in business, entrepreneurship and project management. The  club  also offers its members oppo rtunities to  visit  business establishments to  witness  the best practices at work. It was during one of such activities in AIESEC that my life changing  experience  occurred. ... The level of  efficiency  arising from such  proper  organization  was clearly  discernible. Besides, the factory seemed to have an  unspoken  culture  as there was no one barking orders and reprimanding junior staff. The  second  thing I came across was the  commitment  to sustainability and environmental awareness. I do not claim to be the most environmentally  unaware  individual  at that time, but I had not seen such levels of active pursuit of sustainable practices and eco-friendliness, epitomized by  production  of the Prius and massive cuts on energy expenses. Massive research  had been done  into the most  efficient  technologies and building designs, while  ordinary  practices  were adopted  during  everyday  roles. While the capital costs would appear restrictive, the benefits in cost saving, motivation and customer  admiration  are  invaluable. The third and  last  impact  of the trip to TEMA was sparking my  global  awareness. The company is clearly a  global  leader; identifying  global  trends and how they affect Toyota; training staff to be  global  business leaders among other  global  perspectives. An experience is not life changing if one fails to act on it. I built upon the impact of the trip to TEMA first through undertaking research on the concepts learnt from the visit. Thus, I gained  an understanding  of the Toyota Way Culture and Lean management systems that brought about the efficiency, hard work and  motivation  I had observed (Toyota-Global). In fact, most other firms use a Toyota Way  variant  referred to as Six Sigma to optimize performance (Liker and Hoseus 37). I also gained much  interest  and understanding on sustainability and eco-friendliness, and how to build a

Term paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 2

Term paper - Essay Example In addition, industrial hazards vary depending on the nature of the work environment and outcomes of work performed. Industrial hazards include fire and explosion, biologic hazards, ionizing radiation, heat stress, chemical exposure, electrical hazards, oxygen deficiency, noise, safety hazards, and cold exposure. These hazards among other incidents or situations in the contemporary industrial sector require the skill of an industrial hygienist. Furthermore, events such as the anthrax scares, terrorist attacks, and the potential use of â€Å"dirty bombs† enhance the importance for the awareness on the principles of industrial hygiene. The framework or main principles of industrial hygiene and toxicology include recognition, anticipation, control, and evaluation of workplace hazards. As such, an industrial hygienist must take into consideration these principles to ensure safety and health in the workplace. This paper will discuss ionizing radiation, a physical agent in industria l work environment. It will also discuss its effects on exposure, control, principles, and regulations. Ionizing radiation constitutes particles that hold sufficient energy to free an electron from a molecule or atom, thus ionizing it. This radiation is produced through nuclear reactions, natural or artificial, and by extremely high temperature. Ionizing radiation is also generated through high-energy particle production using particle accelerators, nuclear decay, or charged particles acceleration through electromagnetic fields created by innate processes such as supernova explosions and lighting (Wilson para.10). As such, natural sources of ionizing radiation include the supernova explosions, lightning, the sun, and artificial sources that include x-ray tubes, particle accelerators and nuclear reactors. Ionizing radiations includes x-rays, gamma, beta, alpha, and cosmic rays. There are three harmful radiation emitted by radioactive materials, which

Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Shakespeare - Essay Example Two well known film interpretations are Roman Polanski’s 1971 classic and Geoffrey Wright’s 2007 modern version. These two films have been made with contrasting values and attitudes, yet are true to the original text. Wright’s version is however more suitable for a younger audience than Polanski’s classic version as Wright has set it in a contemporary context. The movie’s fast paced narration, its theme of underground Melbourne gang and trendy costumes make it far more appealing to young viewers than Polanski’s seventeenth century approach. Polanski has made one of the grittiest Shakespeare films with some realistic period costuming of Zeffirelli and a cold and clammy castle set for a location. Director Geoffrey Wright in his version attempts to make Macbeth contemporary by setting it in the contemporary Melbourne underworld. Here swords are substituted by guns and royalty by gangsters. Wright’s Macbeth is gritty, violent but critically flawed at times. Roman Polanski has set his play in the middle Ages whereas Geoffrey Wright moves the action into the present with an Australian background. Luxus und Dekadenz sind geradezu spà ¼rbar.Wright’s movie portrays luxury and corruption. The actors are stylish, always fashionable dressed whereas Polanski replicates the Middle Ages with some realistic costuming by Zeffirelli. Fitting a play which was written hundreds of years ago into a modern film with a contemporary setting is difficult, but Wright has done it extremely well. The original play is about Kings, Lo rds and Ladies. Wright modernises this by transforming King Duncan into the Drug Baron and the Lords as members of his gang. The weapons are also replaced by machine guns and the horses and carriages by Audis and dirt-bikes. Technology too is evident in the movie. Macbeth’s house is equipped with security cameras and monitors. This makes the audience feel that the

Male Role in Female Empowerment

Male Role in Female Empowerment This paper looks at the issue of womens empowerment, the role of men in empowering women, women and feminist reaction to their involvement, their own reaction as men, how they can be efficiently and effectively involved and the way forward. Until the 19th century, women accepted their mediocre status in society as they lacked the educational and economic resources that would enable them challenge the prevailing social order. Attempts to right the inequalities between men and women necessitate the empowerment of women economically, socially, politically and culturally. Women must be given the educational and economic resources that will free them from mens domination, patriarch, oppression, violence and servitude. Like the case of vaccines where weakened or dead microbes of the kind that cause a disease is administered to stimulate immune system to produce antibodies against that disease, if men are seen as the perpetrators and the cause of women problems, then it is simply wise to effectively and efficiently involve them in solving societal inequalities that exist between men and women. Once feminists, advocates, activists and women in general view men everywhere as inherently part of the problem, efforts at empowering women must involve and engage men, hence the proliferation of an interest in men and masculinities in recent years. The lives of men and women are interdependent and any benefit from women empowerment will go a long way to benefit both. Hence, there was a call on countries in 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) to promote mens support in the struggle for gender equality and encourage their involvement and shared responsibility in all areas of family life and reproductive health. Research has shown that, partnering with men is an important strategy for advancing womens empowerment. Again, the need for the involvement of men has been precipitated by a series of global processes such as the 48th session of the United Nations Commission on the status of Women (CSW), which discussed the role of boys and men in achieving womens empowerment and gender equality. This need for mens involvement is underscored by the fact that mens power over women in many contexts necessitates working with men to change the conditions of womens life; for mens power in society is exercis ed from personal decision regarding family size to the policy and programme decisions taken at all levels of government. Again, men as perpetrators arouses the need for their involvement, that is in treating the disease of womens disempowerment, ignoring the cause will only make the fight, a back and forth unprogressive agenda and as such to remedy the situation , the real cause-men, must be involved in the whole process. Also empowering women, calls for the pulling together of many resources for its accomplishment and these resources unfortunately are largely controlled by men who determines its distribution, beneficiaries and accessibility and hence it makes greater sense to pull them along on the pathway of womens empowerment to be able to assess and enjoy the resources needed in the process. Last but not the least, it is important to involve men due to the fact that, they are largely the leaders in society serving predominantly as decision makers, opinion makers as well as publi c figures who the younger generation both male and female emulate as part of their socialization and as such for womens empowerment to be achieved, men as leaders must be reached, encouraged and mobilized to become committed to gender equality in all aspects of human interactions and relationships to serve as good examples to the younger generation to acquire a wholesome socialization that view both men and women as equal and not as one being superior and the other inferior. It is worth noting that the exemplary life of men as leaders in the socialization of boys and girls is very vital in achieving and ensuring gender equity on the backdrop that they (boys and girls) are more susceptible to change and mental restructuring. It is therefore against these backgrounds that mens involvement in womens empowerment is deemed as very crucial and influential. On the assumption that humans in general are resistant to change, particularly to their norms values and belief systems, it is not surprising that some men have and are still fighting against the notion of womens empowerment based on the hidden reason of trying to defend their privileges and power because of fear of the loss of authority and economic benefits that they perceive womens empowerment would involve and also their resentment of what they see as attention and resources being given disproportionately to women. For some other men, the blame-game strategy of some feminists and seeing them as so evil deters them from changing their personal masculinities and also join in the struggle for women empowerment. On the other divide, the attention being paid to men on their involvement in addressing their superiority ideologies, over-emphasized masculinities, violent and abusive behavior in stimulating changes in their relationships with girls and women has been met with the feminist ideology of on our terms/conditions indicating a limited space for mens involvement and tangible participation. Although male involvement in womens empowerment has been of recent concern, many women working in the field remain unconfident, uncertain, antagonistic and very hostile to the idea that men might be or are partners in the fight for gender equality. Thus the emergence of men as advocates for womens empowerment has been received with a lot of suspicion, within some feminist circles; they are viewed as competitors for the limited funds available for womens rights and not as a supporting initiative. Some argue that men were coming to take over with the aim of wiping out feminist movement whilst others see men as competitors in empowering women rather than complimentary to their efforts and advocacy. Interestingly, in the mens fraternity, men working as aids to womens empowerment are seen as betraying their fellow men and sometimes referred to as men who are sat on by women in their communities. Mens role in the promotion of womens empowerment has therefore become topical and yet contested in various quarters among feminist and women who work in the field. Many feminist have viewed the involvement of men in womens empowerment with so much suspicion emanating from the distrust for men and their fear that men will try to use subtle and deceptive means to defend and maintain their privileges and power because of fear of the loss of authority and economic benefits thereby undermining the fight for womens empowerment. Men have been seen as the cause and perpetrators of the down trodden image of women and therefore it is quite uncomfortable for some feminist at involving them in their fight. Perhaps questions like why these men should be involved in the first place, how are they to be involved, whether they are willingly and will be truly committed to the fight, why on earth will men be interested in empowering women considering the superiority, power and autonomy they enjoy, and what solutions, measures and prescriptions do they have to offer in empowering them as women repeatedly clouds the minds of many feminist. This suspicion also arise s from the issue of whether men will really welcome the idea and state of women being equal to them in terms of status, power, and leadership and decision-making, are men really determined to work with women without setting or prescribing boundaries and limitation to how, which form and the extent to which women can be empowered. It is therefore against this background that many if not all women view mens involvement in their empowerment with much suspicion, hostility and hesitations. For some their hostility arises from the fear that the involvement of men in their empowerment would overshadow their efforts with them selling out to a watered down agenda. Again, in working with men to empower women, most development institutions lack the needed determination and focus of working towards a more equal world where men will not be seen as superior to women. Certainly the way in which work with men has been taken up by development institutions has often been lacking in ambition and devoi d of political intent, preoccupied with creating more equitable men, rather that galvanizing mens activism for a more equal world.( Cornwall et al, Dialogues on womens empowerment). Gender equality work with men cannot expect to participate in efforts to secure gender justice simply on the basis of men being the other half of gender but an interdependent part. Personally, for the empowerment of women to be achieved, the role of men can never be overemphasized due to the fact that the lives of men and women are intertwined such that whatever affects one directly or indirectly affects the other. It is worth noting that men even in the most traditional and patriarchal societies believe and support womens empowerment and would want to see their mothers, sisters, daughters and wives live in a society where equity and justice is paramount. Many more men in our view are ready to lace with their women folk in their empowerment- this can clearly be seen around us with the increase in the number of feminist men who have joined in the battle. However if women and feminist want men to be truly committed and involved in their empowerment, then these men should be seen as allies and not competitors, thus men should be seen as complimentary to their efforts rather their challengers or rivals. Again, the tagging men as evil and destructive must stop; othe rwise men will continue to be defensive and resistant to the changes that women desire in them for their empowerment. If we want to reach out to men to influence change, we cannot portray men as evil, since no man identifies himself as such Instead, non-judgmental messages which can provoke thinking and reflection among men for change must be employed. Also, feminist suspicion of men on their involvement in the fight for womens empowerment must give way to trust through restructuring of their thought pattern and channeling their energies in reaching, encouraging, empowering and mobilizing men to become part of the movement which is committed to womens empowerment. Furthermore it is important to educate and sensitize boys in their formative years through both formal educational system and in informal setting through peer programmes and also efforts must be made to incorporate attention of men and boys in legislation, policies and programmes on womens empowerment and to develop ways t o ensure active participation. Last but not the least, many more men can be brought on board if they are encouraged, expose and educated on the need to empower women by their peers. It will be an easier effort if men speak to men on womens empowerment because men feel more comfortable discussing such issues with their peers and are more convince when their peers informs them on issues. Despite all the drawbacks and challenges outlined above, no responsible man would love to see the children and wife become paupers or marginalized. Considering the important role women play in the development agenda, it is only proper men get involved irrespective of how some women activist view it. Women have the primary task of child rearing and therefore need all the resources to execute this task in other to break the cyclical transmission of poverty from generation to generation. Women transmit values to the next generation therefore, to make the biggest impact on development; society must empower and invest in its women. The lives of men and women are interdependent and any benefit from women empowerment will go a long way to benefit both. Hence, it is no wonder that when the call was made on countries in 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) to promote mens support in the struggle for gender equality and encourage their involvement and share d responsibility in all areas of family life and reproductive health many men accepted. With mens power in public and private life, their cooperation is indispensable in the domestic and community spheres, national politics, finance and governance. Consequently, the empowerment of women is very crucial for the development of any society considering the roles they play in society and the fact they form more than half of the human resource of a nation but their empowerment cannot materialize without men being involved. Men have been at the centre stage of the issue of societal inequalities and hence remedying the situation requires their involvement. However, some feminist have met this development with much suspicion, hostility and distrust for these men. On the other hand, some feminist are advocating for the involvement of men as a way of addressing gender inequalities and mobilizing resource for womens empowerment. Accordingly, there is the need for those who work in the field to reach, encourage, empower, and mobilize men to become part of the fight to achieve greater success.

Deciphering Low-Carb Diet Jargon :: Nutritio

Deciphering Low-Carb Diet Jargon The medical world is a complicated one with constant changes in what is recommended for good health. Trying to keep up with current information is challenging enough, but deciphering the technical jargon can be the most confusing part. The low-carb diet craze exploded into the media with Atkins, The Zone, and the South Beach Diet. Accompanying these names are words such as glucose and fructose with many people know are different forms of sugar. But what do some of these other common words and phrases mean? What are insulinemia, glycemia, and a glycemic index? They are frequently used, but what do they mean?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, the goal of the low carb bars and snacks is to reduce the postprandial (after a meal) insulin levels. Insulin levels are important for health reasons, particularly diabetes. It is well- known that there is increasing concern over the rising obesity and diabetes rates in this country. Glycemia is the presence of glucose in the blood. Hypoglycemia is an abnormal decrease of sugar in the blood. It is important to test people with diabetes regularly for their glycemic status because they have certain glycemic goals of where their blood sugar level needs to be and this can vary from person to person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is where the glycemic index comes into play. The glycemic index is a ratings system for food based on their glycemic response, which is the speed at which a food is able to increase a person’s blood glucose level. White bread is an example of a food with a high glycemic index. Foods with a high glycemic index break down into sugars more quickly than those with a low index. Studies show that foods with a low glycemic index may help to manage diabetes by helping to control glucose levels. With the growing diabetes trend this information could e crucial for maintaining health for those with diabetes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Insulinemia is the presence of an abnormally high concentration of insulin in the blood. Insulin is important in order to get the sugars out of our blood and into organs or storage.

Leadership Management

APPLIED LEADERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT COURSE BUS3023 ASSIGNMENT 3 CREDITS Please complete the following assignment and mail it with the copy of the assignment to be marked and for comments. Please use your discretion to determine the length of your answer. Keep the following criteria in mind: Did I demonstrate my knowledge and insight? Will the tutor be satisfied that I can apply the information (Skills)? Write answers in your own words as far as possible and refrain from copying from text books/handouts. 1. Define: Leadership. The process of influencing people while operating to meet organizational requirements and improving the organization through change. 2. Name the five practices of exemplary leadership. * Model the way * Inspire a shared vision * Challenge the Process * Enable other to act * Encourage the heart 3. Explain the relationship between management, vision and planning. * Management involves all the undertakings require planning, organizing, command, coordination and cont rol to function properly, by focusing on producing change by developing a vision for the future along with strategies for bringing about the changes needed to achieve that vision. . Does every manager need to be a leader? Explain. * All good managers are leaders to various degrees. They need to carry out their leaders' visions by creating their own visions that support the larger vision, and then getting their workers to accomplish the vision. For example, Howard Schultz, of Starbucks Coffee Company, had a vision of 2000 stores by the year 2000. This vision became one of the driving forces behind the company's success. Did Howard Schultz build those 2000 stores himself? No way!Schultz's vision was achieved by managers and supervisors throughout the organization who had smaller scale visions that directly supported his 2000 by 2000 vision. They got these visions accomplished by delegating the means and authority to their subordinates. These managers and supervisors also supported the ir employees by giving them the means and opportunity to grow by coaching and mentoring; and providing training, development, and education opportunities. * A CEO cannot be the sole leader of a large organization. There are simply to many leadership tasks that must be accomplished†¦ leader cannot do all of them herself. 5. It has been identified that there are 6 Pillars of Character that are important to adopting and ethical perspective in leadership development. Can you name four of the six? a) Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship b) Ruthlessness, Drive, Determination, Toughness, Supportive, Action oriented c) Supportive, Intelligent, Insightful, Good Communicator, Toughness, Fair d) Caring, Softness, Intelligent, Decisive, Team Player, Communicator 6. Define: * Vision The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom:the organization had lost its vision and direction * Mission * a strongly felt aim, ambition, or cal ling: his main mission in life has been to cut unemployment * Strategy * A plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim. * The art of planning and directing overall military operations and movements in a war or battle * Leadership Values. * Leaders know what they value. They also recognize the importance of ethical behaviour.The best leaders exhibit both their values and their ethics in their leadership style and actions. Your leadership ethics and values should be visible because you live them in your actions every single day. 7. What concepts of leadership are important to explain the difference in focus of leadership compared to management? * Leadership and management must go hand in hand, however they are NOT identical. Both are needed and they are linked and complement each other. Any attempt to separate the two is likely to cause more problems in a business without solving any. Many debates took place and is still taking place regarding the differences. Simply put the manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate and the leader’s role is to inspire and motivate * The following is from book published in 1989 written by Warren Bennis namely â€Å"On Becoming a Leader,† he composed a list of the differences as listed below: * The manager administers; the leader innovates. * The manager is a copy; the leader is an original. * The manager maintains; the leader develops. * The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. * The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. * The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. * The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon. * The manager imitates; the leader originates. * The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it. * The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person. * The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing. 8.In which way do you see that new technologies will affect leadership and leaders? * I do not see technologies affecting leaders, or people for that matter. What I do see are good leaders achieving their goals by selecting the right tools (technology) to achieve their goals. Good leaders focus upon their goals and then do what is necessary to achieve it; they do not pick a technology and then try to achieve some goal with it. 9. What is the difference between ‘Interpersonal skills and Personal Learning Skills’? * Interpersonal Skills- The skills used by a person to properly interact with others.In the business domain, the term generally refers to an employee's ability to get along with others while getting the job done. * Personal Learning Skills – Is the way that a person will learn something either by making notes, creating a mind map, etc. 10. Write an essay of (one) A4 Page on the importance of the individual within the context of team practices. Organisations are made up of individuals brought together to enable the organisation to achieve its mission. The organisation's structure will determine how these individuals are brought together and how they relate to one another.The success of the organisation is dependent on each individual working together to achieve the common goal. If individuals are pulling in different directions, this will have a detrimental impact upon the organisation achieving its mission. It is the role of the manager to integrate the activities of individuals, ensuring that they are aware of the institution's priorities and that they are working towards them. Managers achieve this through the authority delegated to them within the organisation's hierarchy. We are all different.We differ in many ways, some of them visual (age, gender) some of them non-visual (personality, abilities). These differences mean that we often have diff erent values and attitudes on certain issues and individuals will perceive situations in different ways. It can be interesting and rewarding to discuss a topic from another point of view and to gain insight into other perspectives. But diversity can also be challenging and it can sometimes be difficult to understand things from a different point of reference.From an individual perspective, it is important to understand and appreciate that not everyone will see things or value the things that you do, nor agree with your opinions. Different jobs require different abilities, skills and competencies. When we assign someone to a job that does not match their abilities, because the job is either not sufficiently demanding or too demanding, the result can be frustration and stress for both the individual and their work colleagues. In a situation where an individual's abilities do not match the requirements of the job because they are in some way lacking, then the individual will feel out o f their depth.This has an impact on the individual who feels unable to complete their tasks to the required and expected levels of performance. The team will also be affected by the situation. They will often have to take on extra work and duties in order to support their colleague. In a situation where an individual's abilities exceed those required for the job, then the individual may find the job too easy and become bored. This leads to a lack of enthusiasm and care for the job and a sense of frustration for the individual feeling unable to achieve their potential.Again this frustration impacts upon the rest of the team and ultimately their performance. Stress is a very individual concept and our responses to it can vary considerably. We all find different situations stressful and we all react to them in a variety of ways. Some people are stress victims. They perceive almost every situation in life as a threat and they respond negatively to situations causing them anxiety, anger, self-doubt or frustration. Others view situations more positively. They assess situations and channel their energies into a proactive response spurring them on to achieve their goals.Our response to stress depends on a balance between how demanding a potentially stressful situation is perceived to be and our ability to cope with it. Too big an imbalance and we will suffer negative stress. This ability to cope with stress is influenced by our outlook on life, our health and our support system which includes friends and relatives. Therefore, a situation that may be stressful to one individual, may be exhilarating and exciting to another, and indeed our reactions to stressful situations and how we cope with them varies throughout our life 11. Describe the three critical dimensions of team learning. First, there is a need to think insightfully about complex issues * Teams must learn how to tap the potential for many minds to be more intelligent than one mind * Second, there is a need f or innovative, coordinated action * Third, there is the role of team members on other teams * A learning team fosters other learning teams through inculcating the practices and skills of team learning 12. Explain the requirements for leadership team learning. * Leadership in a non-team work environment is a top down structure where rules, not principles, govern participation.In a team culture, leaders, guided by their principles of involvement, work to help team members find a level of confidence, trust, and cooperation so that they can achieve high levels of production * Both managing a department and leading a team involve the following skills and activities: * Providing direction and leadership to others * Planning * Meeting goals and objectives * Managing activities/tasks * Working with people * The key difference lies in the responsibility for performance management. * Team leaders, on the other hand, are responsible for leading teams of people who may not report to them. Witho ut organizational authority, team leaders must influence others and inspire them to meet the goals of the initiative or project. * Following are five critical team leadership skills that will help team leaders (and managers) effectively influence and demonstrate respect for their team members. * Understanding behavioural styles * Listening and effectively communicating * Giving praise * Handling * criticism * Using problem – solving and persuasion instead of Criticism 13. What is the relationship between leaders and followers? Many people make mistake to separate leaders and followers. I think that no matter what position one has within an organization, he/she is playing a follower’s role to support someone else. Great leaders of an organization are following the profitable goals of their stakeholders. For a survival  business, followers need to be effective and supportive for their leaders to be successful. Nevertheless, followers are more effective if they consider themselves active and independent * It is more important in my opinion that how follower’s view of their leaders is. According to Yukl et al. 2010), leaders’ effectiveness implies leader competence and intentions in the view of the followers. Followers who are closed to their leaders are often the most susceptible to the crucibles of their failed leaders. Additionally, followers who are so committed to their leaders are the most disappointed people when they see their leaders fail. 14. Distinguish between the following types of teams: * Problem Solving Teams; * A group of individuals assembled to work on a project that involves resolving one or more issues that have already arisen or to deal effectively with issues as they arise.In a business context, a problem solving team will typically be formed for a limited time frame incorporating staff from different organizational levels with various relevant skill sets. * Cross Functional Teams; * Let us understand this with the help of an example. * Maria and Andy both were part of the branding team. They got an assignment from their superiors to be completed within two days. Unfortunately Andy met with an accident and was advised complete bed rest. To avoid delays, Peter from the operations team was shifted to the marketing team to assist Maria for the time being and form a team.Such teams are called cross functional teams. Ideally the employees should be more or less on the same level to avoid ego hassles. Individuals from different areas come and work together for a common objective to form a cross functional team. In such teams, people from different areas, interests and likings join hands to come out with a unique idea to successfully complete a task. * Virtual Teams; * Virtual teams consist of individuals who are separated by distances and connected through computer. Here individuals communicate with each other online through internet.Sam at Los Angeles can form a team with Mandy at Mexico and Sa ra at Denver all working for a common objective but the communication is totally digital through internet. Such teams are helpful when employees need to connect with each other and are located at different places. Individuals supporting any community in social networking sites such as facebook or orkut also form a virtual team as all the members are from different locations but support a common community. They all have a common objective -to support and promote their community. * Research and development Teams; Investigative activities that a business chooses to conduct with the intention of making a discovery that can either lead to the development of new products or procedures, or to improvement of existing products or procedures. Research and development is one of the means by which business can experience future growth by developing new products or processes to improve and expand their operations. * Self Managed Teams * Self Managed Teams consist of individuals who work together again for a common purpose but without the supervision of any leader. Here as the name suggests every individual is accountable for his individual performance.The team members of self managed teams must respect each other and should never loose focus on their target. No leader is appointed and the team members have to take their own responsibility. Individuals take the initiative on their own and are their own guides and mentors. 15. What do you understand by ‘Quality Performance ; Collaboration’? * Quality Performance is also referred to as quality of service. Quality performance can be assessed through measurements of physical products, statistical sampling of the output of processes, or through surveys of purchasers of goods or services. Collaboration is working with each other to do a task. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, (this is more than the intersection of common goals seen in co-operati ve ventures, but a deep, collective, determination to reach an identical objective 16. Explain in your own words the phases of the mentoring relationship. * Building a relationship between the mentor and mentee * Discussing and developing clear expectations between the parties * The development of the Mentee * Closing of Ending the Formal Metor – Mentee relationship 17.Why is the development leadership effectiveness important in the 21st Century? * The quality of leadership is an important element in an organization’s success, since leaders influence employees to work together toward the fulfilment of a company’s mission and the achievement of its goals 18. Describe the two leadership functions needed for effective group performance. Must the leader perform both of these functions? * To act as a counsellor of the people at work: When the subordinates face problems at work, which may be technical or emotional, the leader has to guide and advise the subordinate co ncerned.There may be situation which are out of control, in that situation, leader must stand behind the subordinate to encourage and support and find a solution for the problem. * Time Management: Leader must ensure the timely completion of the work while ensuring the quality and efficiency of the work. At different stages, the work should be complete according to the plan. The timely completion of the individual tasks will ensure the completion of the group work. Leader should monitor and ensure the individual task at different stages are accomplished as per the plan. In my personal view I would think that a leader should perform in both of these mentioned functions 19. What is the â€Å"situational leadership theory†? How should the manager’s style vary in each of the four phases? * Situational Leadership Theory (S. L. T. ) is the idea that changing conditions often call for a rapidly evolving strategy with tactics to support the evolution of the team to meet the pr esent challenges. S. L. T. also suggests that great leaders will recognize the special talents ; strengths of each team member and then adjust the tactical maneuvers around the strengths of each team member and the collective team. 0. In what ways, if any, have your views on leaders and leadership changed as a result of this course? Which leadership style do you feel is best suited to you? Which style would you be most likely to use? How flexible in leadership style do you believe you are? Do you think your answers to these questions will affect your career choice(s)? 21. Create a leadership time line for yourself (beginning with the end of high school) that depicts important turning points in your development as a managerial leader. Think of where you have been and where you are today on the time line.What do you expect it to look like in five years? Ten years? 22. Describe in short the four principal forces of change. * Globalization * A convergence of international activities suc h as the increase in overseas production of goods and services; increasing consumer demands in emerging markets worldwide; declining barriers to international trade aided by rapidly changing technology, have created a globalized economy in which inter-dependency among countries has emerged as the norm today * Technological Change: * Technology is like a two-edged sword that can make our lives easier or worse.The Internet has revolutionized the way in which information is exchanged, communication facilitated and commerce conducted. Technology is rapidly changing and effective management demands more knowledge in these areas in order for companies to manage their resources and develop, maintain or keep their competitive edge. * While technology has enabled firms to save time and money by conducting business such as negotiations, trade, and commerce in real time, it can also facilitate the dissemination of sensitive information about a company's practices, trade secrets and new product development in a matter of seconds. Knowledge Management * Driving forces such as shifts in buyer demographics and preferences; technology, product and market innovation; changes in society, consumer attitudes and lifestyle all demand new ideas. This has created a need for knowledge workers. * Knowledge workers comprise a company's intellectual capital and are made up of creative people with novel ideas and problem-solving skills. Managing its knowledge assets can give a company a competitive edge as it effectively utilizes the expertise, skills, intellect, and relationships of members of the organization. * Cross-boundaries Collaboration An important part of knowledge management is effectively managing organization-wide collaboration. Use of appropriate technology and applications such as a virtual private networks; VoIP, e-mail, social networking websites such as Face Book, and even company-sponsored blogs can facilitate communication between an organization and its stakeholders, and help in different types of internal and external collaborative processes. An example of a tool that can be used in cross-boundaries collaboration might be an easily accessible online database that provides a central source of information to employees, customers, or suppliers. 3. Briefly profile your company’s primary shareholders. What are their investment objectives? How much influence do they currently exert? If your organization is not publicly traded, identify the key stakeholders. How influential are they in the day-to-day operations? How might the influence of the key shareholders or stakeholders change in the next five years? With this level of analysis of the forces acting upon your company, what must the organization do differently in order to effectively address these influences? Where do you fit into that picture? 24.What are the values that drive you in your job? 25. How do you keep people's loyalty in a company that is downsizing? * Leadership is more about enabling people to do their best and become the best, than it is about loyalty. Leaders inspire people while managers set polices that buy loyalty. Besides, organizations that have effective leaders throughout their organization will find themselves downsizing much less than organizations that are lacking leaders. That is because they will be performing the necessary steps to carry them on to the visions they have created.Also, if you have good leaders throughout the organization, you are going to find yourself doing the right things if and when it becomes cost-cutting time – being honest and compassionate 26. Is there any index of success for turning common managers into leaders, i. e. , a tax of effectiveness of training? * I'm not so sure if there is an index, since this type of training falls more into the development category, which can be extremely hard to measure at times. For example, if you train someone to operate a forklift, you can then go to the job site to see i f that person actually learner some new skills.But observing someone to see if they have gained some leadership skills is much more difficult. How do you effectively measure their visioning skills? Also, developing a leader is not accomplished in a two-week leadership course; that is where they learn the basics. The rest of what they learn comes through a trial and error period of practice. However, there are indicators that show how much value organizations place on leadership skills: * The March 2, 1999 edition of the NewsEdge had a story on an international study conducted by the HayGroup for Fortune magazine.They found that corporate cultures of the world's most admired companies are alike in many ways, but also differ from those of an average company. * This study reveals that the dominant values in the world's most admired companies are teamwork, customer focus, innovation fair treatment of employees, global reach, and vision. These are mainly leadership skills! * In average c ompanies, the overriding values are making budget, supporting the decisions of management, and minimizing risks. While these are mainly management skills! * Great companies have leaders while average companies are run by managers! Also, Aon Consulting of Chicago reported that the top five reasons for employee commitment are (notice that all five tasks are mostly leadership skills): * Employer's recognition of personal and family time * The organization's vision and direction * Personal growth * The ability to challenge the way things are done * Everyday work satisfaction 27. Describe your business strategy in less than 45 words. 28. Answer True or False: According to the recent literature, courage is one of the seven competencies of effective leaders. * False 29.International management development involves the CEO and the senior team and other key elements. Which of the following is not one of the key elements? a) The global strategy b) Human Resource and line capabilities c) Senio r Management involvement d) Performance Management 30. Explain why resistance to change is so prevalent in the workplace * Loss of Job: * In an organizational setting, any process, technological advancement, systems, or product change will include streamlining, working smarter, cost reduction, efficiency, faster turn around times. * Bad Communication Strategy: The way in which the change process is communicated  to employees within the organization is a critical factor in determining their reactions. * Shock and Fear of the Unknown: * Employees’ responses to organizational change can range from fear and panic to enthusiastic support. During periods of change, some employees may feel the need to cling to the past because it was a more secure, predictable time. * Loss of Control: * Familiar routines help employees develop a sense of control over their work environment. Being asked to change the way they operate may make employees feel powerless and confused.People are more li kely to understand and implement changes when they feel they have some form of control * Lack of Competence: * This is a fear that is difficult for employees to admit openly. But sometimes, change in organizations necessitates changes in skills, and some people will feel that they won’t be able to make the transition well. Therefore, the only way for them to try and survive is to kick against the change. * Poor Timing: * Change must be introduced when there are no other major initiatives going on. Sometimes it is not what a leader does, but it is how, when and why she or he does it that creates resistance to change!Undue resistance can occur because changes are introduced in an insensitive manner or at an awkward time * Lack of Reward: * There is a common business saying that managers get what they reward. Organizational employees will resist change when they do not see anything in it for them in terms of rewards. * Office Politics: * Every organisation has its own share of i n-house politics. So, some employees resist change as a political strategy to â€Å"show or prove† that the change decision is wrong. They may also resist showing that the person leading the change is not up to the task. Former Change Experience: * Our attitudes about change are partly determined by the way we have experienced change in the past. For instance, if in your organisation, you have handled change badly in the past, the employees will have good reasons for rebelling. * Loss of Support System: * Employees already in their comfort zones, working with the managers they get along with, and who are operating within predictable routines know their support system will back them up during challenging times. * Empathy and Peer Pressure: * Whether we are introverted or extroverted, we are still social creatures.Organizational stakeholders will resist change to protect the interests of a group, team friends, and colleagues. It is normal for employees to resist change to prote ct their co-workers * Lack of trust and support: * Successful organizational change does not occur in a climate of mistrust. Trust, involves faith in the intentions and behaviour of others. In organizations where there is a high degree of trust and each individual employee is treated  with respect and dignity, there is less resistance to change. 31. How could cultural differences within an organization be better leveraged to enhance performance? Cultural diversity involves the differences in the composition of members of an organization in terms of nationality, race, color, gender, creed, religion or age — in other words, an array of culture found among people from diverse backgrounds. Organizational behavior refers to the nature of interactions among people and groups within an organization. The positive influence of cultural diversity facilitates members of the organization to build relationships and acknowledge each other regardless of their differences of origin and bac kground. A typical organization has an extensive range of people who have cultural and personal differences. A small business interested in fostering cultural diversity among its employees endeavours to create mutual respect for the different cultures, along with enabling personnel to reach their full potential. Acknowledging diverse cultures enables the organization to positively influence the organizational behaviour that, in turn, enhances the performance and image of the organization.The business should portray the cultural diversity aspect of the organization in the mission statement. * Cultural diversity is the biggest potential benefit to work teams with complex tasks and problems that require creativity and innovation. 32. Select the right answer: All of the following are differences in the inherent leadership styles between women and men except: a) Men are more likely to use a directive command and control style b) Man rely on formal authority for their position c) Women at tempt to enhance followers’ self-worth ) Men share power and information e) Women tend to lead through inclusion and rely on interpersonal skills to influence others 33. Answer True or False: One limitation of path-goal theory of leadership is that some of the contingencies have not been sufficiently researched. * True 34. Describe the different stages of group evolution. * Forming * In the Forming stage, personal relations are characterized by dependence. Group members rely on safe, patterned behaviour and look to the group leader for guidance and direction. * Storming The next stage, called Storming, is characterized by competition and conflict in the personal-relations dimension an organization in the task-functions dimension. As the group members attempt to organize for the task, conflict inevitably results in their personal relations. Individuals have to bend and mould their feelings, ideas, attitudes, and beliefs to suit the group organization. * Norming * In the Normin g stage, interpersonal relations are characterized by cohesion. Group members are engaged in active acknowledgment of all members’ contributions, community building and maintenance, and solving of group issues.Members are willing to change their preconceived ideas or opinions on the basis of facts presented by other members, and they actively ask questions of one another. Leader ship is shared, and cliques dissolve. * Performing * The Performing stage is not reached by all groups. If group members are able to evolve to stage four, their capacity, range, and depth of personal relations expand to true interdependence. In this stage, people can work independently, in subgroups, or as a total unit with equal facility. Their roles and authorities dynamically adjust to the changing needs of the group and individuals. Adjourning * The final stage, Adjourning, involves the termination of task behaviours and disengagement from relationships. A planned conclusion usually includes recog nition for participation and achievement and an opportunity for members to say personal goodbyes. 35. Select the right answer: The type of leaders who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements are: a) Transactional leaders b) Employee-oriented leaders c) Transformational leaders d) Process-oriented leaders ) Charismatic leaders 36. Explain in your own words what you understand by ‘Distributing Power and Status’ * Human societies develop pecking orders just as chickens do, but both the process and the outcome are, of course, far more complex and varied. We are used to a single powerful leader who operates through command and control is attractive in its simplicity. However it is much better to rely upon a wide range of individuals and leaders who share a common set of values and feel personal ownership for the overall success of the organization.These responsible and empowered individuals will serve a s much better watchdogs than any single, dominant leader or bureaucratic structure. I personally feel that status will not influence teams aa power is distributed evenly and most of the time these teams are composed of people that have the same status. It can also be useful to adopt a peer ranking system. All associates get the opportunity to rank members of their team, including their leaders 37. Define Group Boundaries and Identity. For a group to function and develop, one of the most important areas for clear consensus is the perception of who is in the new group and who is not in, and the criteria by which such decisions are made. New members cannot really function and concentrate on their primary task if they are insecure about their membership, and the group cannot really maintain a good sense of itself if it does not have a way of defining itself and its boundaries. * Initially, the criteria for inclusion are usually set by the leader, founder, or convener, but as the group m embers interact, those criteria are ested, and a group consensus arises around the criteria that survive the test. In a young company, there is often intense debate over who should be an owner or a partner, who should have stock options, who should be hired for key functions or be an officer, and who should be ejected because he or she does not fit in. In this debate, real personnel decisions are being made, and at the same time, the criteria of inclusion are being forged, tested, and articulated so that they become clear to everyone.Such debate also provides opportunities for testing mission statements, goal clarity, and means clarity, illustrating how several cultural elements are simultaneously being created, tested, articulated, and reinforced. 38. Complete the following statement: With self-leadership, individuals and teams set goals, plan and implement tasks, evaluate performance, and _________________. * Solve their own problems, and motivate themselves. 39. What do you under stand by ‘Moralism-Pragmatism’? Moralism means the notion that there is some intrinsically good way of living, or at minimum some intrinsically bad ways of living. To the moralist, the proper function is to reinforce the intrinsically correct way of living and to suppress the intrinsically incorrect ways of living. In contrast, pragmatism is not concerned with the intrinsic ways of living, but with outcomes: a way of living is good or bad only to the extent that it produces a good or bad outcome. To the pragmatist, the proper function of the is to produce a good outcome.Both of these paradigms entail making moral judgments: the moralist must (somehow) judge which ways of living are good or bad; the pragmatist must (somehow) judge which outcomes are good or bad. 40. A more recently emergent theory of leadership holds that IQ scores and other historical qualifiers of â€Å"leadership† are not as important as being able to understand yourself and others in the conte xt of varying situations. What is this theory known as? a) Motivation b) Self Awareness c) Emotional Intelligence d) Charismatic Leadership 1. Perhaps the first study of Organizational Leadership (Lewin et al, 1938) identified 3 behavioural leadership styles, which of the following is not one of the styles? a) Autocratic b) Democratic c) Laissez-Faire d) Task Oriented 42. The super leader model of leadership proposed by Afsaneh ; Nahavandi in a 2000 paper, does NOT include which of the following characteristics for a leader? a) Use self-managing teams b) Work as a facilitator c) Delegate to a team with goals and structure d) Trust the team to handle given work 43.A critic of business school's obsession with teaching of management as a science, this current professor at McGill University is also the co-author of a organizational structure known as an Organigraph a) Henry Mintzberg b) Peter Drucker c) James MacGregor Burns d) None of the above. 44. What are some advantages of a MBA Pr ogram focused on Leadership? * Help students develop skills that are essential to success in any field: critical thinking, problem-solving, communicating, negotiating, and acting ethically in professional situations. Programs are designed for mid-career professionals who want to step into leadership roles * It has flexible schedules 45. Which of the following theories of leadership postulates that people will be more focused and motivated if they believe they are capable of high performance, believe their effort will results in desired outcomes and believe their work is worthwhile? a) Contingency Theory b) Path-Goal Theory c) Transformational Theory d) Transactional Theory 46. The belief that people are either born or not born with the qualities for successful leadership can be classified as what type of leadership theory? ) Transformational Theory b) Situational Theory c) Skills Theory d) Trait Theory 47. The nominal group technique is a good way to allow all group members to have a say in the group's final decision? a) True b) False 48. When faced with a difficult decision that directly involves the group you a) Avoid making the decision altogether b) Put it up for discussion and ask other members of your group for input c) Leave it to someone else to decide d) Pretend the problem doesn't exist e) Keep postponing the decision until the problem becomes obsolete 9. You delegate a task. What defines the performance standards for the person who fulfills the task? a) How well you would do it b) The person's past performance c) Criteria and standards set prior d) The job needs to be done as well as necessary (fitness for purpose) e) By giving others in the group authority, the manager/team leader loses control. 50. When working toward a goal a) You tend to focus on the big picture b) You tend to focus on the details. 51. Do you have a clear vision of where your group/organization is headed? a) Definitely ) To a large degree c) To a certain degree d) Not really 52. Why is effective communication so important for leadership? * Effective communication is an important element of success for every organization, leader, manager, supervisor, and employee. An organization whose people communicate effectively experiences fewer of the misunderstandings that create friction between people, waste time, and cause mistakes. The strategy of this enterprise is clear to all, and each person understands how his or her work contributes to that strategy.Employees listen to customers and, in turn, are clear and persuasive in describing their company’s products and services. 53. Explain where does trust fit in terms of effective leadership? * Trust is one of the most critical elements in the leading-following equation. People who are in leadership roles in any organization cannot succeed over the long term unless there is some sense of trust from the followers in that organization. Force and coercion can replace trust as a glue that binds people together f or a while, but not for the long haul. Followers need not love a leader. They need not like a leader. But to support a leader, and follow him or her, they need to have some sense of trust and confidence in that leader, both in their ability to perform competently and expertly, and confidence in the leader as a person 54. Explain where does power fit in leadership? * To answer the question we have to distinguish between two kinds of power. First there is the kind of power that is associated with a formal position in an organization's hierarchy, such as the CEO, VP, Department Head, or Unit Supervisor.Holding such a positions confers some ability to control reward, punishments, working conditions and other things that affect employees. We call this formal power, or you can also call it positional or role power. * The other kind of power doesn't come from having a formal position, so both formal and informal leaders can wield it. We can call this form of power informal power, or influe ntial power, since it is based on the ability to influence and not on the ability to control the rewards and punishment or the work environment.Informal power is a result of others (peers, other managers, rank and file) choosing to follow because the leader creates trust, loyalty and inspires others. 55. What is a ‘thought leader’? * Thought leaders are people who have an influence on how people think about an issue or situation. Through their development of models, theories or ideas, they end up with a following that stems largely from the apparent truth and/or usefulness of their ideas. * Thought leaders do not â€Å"intend to lead†. Neither do they require formal power. Their â€Å"power to lead† lies with the apparent truth and effectiveness (and often innovativeness) of their thinking. Thought leaders can affect others on a grand scale, through the exposure of their thinking in the media, or through books, personal influence and so on, but they can al so affect others locally, within an organization, by presenting their thinking in compelling ways, so that those around them approach problems or issues from a different perspective. Often thought leaders are best known for innovative or â€Å"new† ideas. 56. Answer True or False: According to organizational behaviour research, male and female leaders do not differ in their levels of task-oriented and people-oriented leadership. True 57. What is paternalistic leadership? * A type of fatherly managerial style typically employed by dominant males where their organizational power is used to control and protects subordinate staff that are expected to be loyal and obedient. A manager with a paternalistic leadership style might be appropriate for a business with a more formal and hierarchical structure where creative thinking is not required of staff. 58. Some authors say leaders must divide their time in three parts: one for handling finances, another for quality, and a third for relationships.What do you think about? * Leaders have two â€Å"leadership continuum† scales that they must follow. Earlier, I talked about the people scale, and how we have been moving from Douglas McGreagor's Theory X to Theory Y. This continuum can be seen as the vertical axis (concern for people) in Blake and Mouton's Managerial Grid. The other axis is the â€Å"concern for task† and it is plotted along the horizontal axis. By focusing on the far end of the scales or continuum and developing goals to achieve the 9s, a leader can create her visions.And then by developing great people (people scale) and giving them the means to accomplish your vision (task scale), you have ensured that the necessary ingredients are there for organization success. In other words, good leaders have â€Å"goal directed visions† and then achieve them by inspiring their people to work through change and challenges in order for task accomplishment. This, in turn, equals a successful organization. 59. What do you call the theory that some people have specific characteristics that differentiate leaders from non-leaders? * Trait Theories 60.What's the worst fault a leader can have? * A failure to see the benefits of diversity. This creates like-people throughout the organizations and leads to one-way thinking. If you do not have a diverse team, then you cannot come up with the creative brainstorming solutions to stay competitive. Also, you alienate your customers and consumers who can be quite diverse. 61. Complete the following statement: If trait research had been successful, we would ______________, whereas if behavioural studies were correct, we would ___________. * Select the right person for the job; * Train leaders. 2. Select the right answer: It is generally considered that leadership is important to an organization’s success. All of the following are actions that leaders take to make an organization successful except: a) Make rapid and firm decisi ons b) Control deviations from a standard c) Motivate employees to higher levels of productivity d) Practice charismatic standards e) Anticipate change and vigorously exploit opportunities 63. Answer True or False: Path-goal theory advocates servant leadership. * True 64. What is the shape of the perfect leader and does he or she exist? To paraphrase W. Somerset Maugham, â€Å"There are three rules for creating good leaders. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. † * There are no perfect leaders, that is why good leaders are always trying to improve themselves through self-study, training, education, mentorship, making mistakes and then learning from them, etc. Since there are no perfect leaders, it is hard to build a good leadership model, which is why there are hundreds of them. But, we can be sure of a few things that good leaders have: * A vision of the future (answers the question, â€Å"where are we going? †). The ability to encourage followers to jump into t hat experience (work through the many changes that are required to achieve that vision). * A love of self-improvement for themselves and their followers. This love makes them good coaches and mentors. * Empowering their followers to get things done (delegates). 65. Does a leader need to be motivated? How can leaders maintain themselves to stay motivated? * A leader definitely has to be motivated; those who are not will quickly be seen as frauds in their followers' eyes as they expect their leaders to be enthusiastic about their work.Motivation comes in two forms: extrinsic and intrinsic. * Extrinsic motivators come from the outside. For example, one reason that I go to work is that I need to make a living in order to survive. Intrinsic motivators come from within. For example, another reason that I go to work is that I get a great deal of satisfaction when I accomplish a difficult task. * Good leaders set and achieve goals that allow them to get a healthy balance of both motivators. Although many people believe that intrinsic motivators are the best, that is not necessarily so.Often, the extrinsic motivators lead us into new situations and then our love for doing it (intrinsic) carries us through and on to new heights. 66. As far as communication is a key point, how can a shy person be a leader? * Communication, from a leadership point, is more than just directing others (which shy people would draw back from), it is more about maintaining healthy relationships (which almost every shy person is capable of doing). One of my favorite quotes is from Captain Henry â€Å"Jim† Crowe, USMC.While in Guadalcanal on 13 January 1943, he used the following words and actions to motivate his troops: â€Å"Goddamn it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me! † It was more than an order — it was his action of not showing his fear by being in the front that motivated his troops. * Leaders use both actions and words to get things do ne. Bossing others is the act of directing others to get things done without having any concern for the employees. Shy persons do not normally become bosses, but many of them do become leaders†¦ while the bullies become bosses. 67.If so much material is written about leadership, why are there so few real leaders in companies? * Who says there are so few leaders? The only people who can call a person a leader are the followers. People outside the organization might call a person a leader, yet she might have just been a dictating tyrant who used her power of authority to get things done. This only made her the boss, not a leader. Only the people who work for another person have the authority to call that person a leader. * Too many people equate leaders with the power of authority, yet it is more about visioning and achieving goals through others.Organizations that are lagging behind their competitors often have a lack of leaders throughout their ranks. While great organizations have leaders throughout the organization, from top to bottom. Just as I mentioned earlier about Starbucks' goal of 2000 stores by the year 2000, it took a lot of leaders throughout the ranks to accomplish it. 68. The role of principles of leadership is so extensive that it puts one to think – isn't a good leader a kind of superman or superwomen? How can that be? * Leadership is like many other difficult skills — it takes skills and practice.That is why it is important to develop leaders throughout your organization; although you can learn the knowledge and the skills in a short period of time, it takes plenty of practice to get it right. Senior leaders should always be coaching and mentoring their subordinates on the leadership continuum. 69. Is a military model of leadership adequate to any company, as far as it based most on authority and discipline? * Researchers at McKinsey & Company and the Conference Board discovered that one highly effective route of leadership is demonstrated by the U. S. Marine Corps.The Marines' approach to motivation follows the â€Å"mission, values, and pride† (MVP) path, which researchers say is practical and relevant for the business world. A couple of other organizations that follow the MVP path are 3M, New York City Ballet, and KFC. There are four other valid paths to follow: Process and Metric (Toyota), Entrepreneurial Spirit (BMC Software) Individual Achievement (Perot Systems), and Reward and Celebration (Mary Kay). * The Marines invest in their front line by following five practices: * Over-investing in cultivating core value: * Make an investment by intensely focusing on core values.Give your employees more than a brief introduction — assign some training to your most experienced and talented managers. One role model can influence 40 or 50 new hires. Also, focus on values after the training, i. e. Marriott prominently displays customer letters praising superior performance. * Preparing every pe rson to lead, including frontline supervisors: * Training every front line person to lead has a powerful effect on morale. Do NOT write the followers off or give them superficial attention. You most embrace the notion that front line workers can lead. Learning when to create teams and when to create single-leader work groups: * Genuine teams are rare in the business world where a single individual leading a group is the norm. Real teams get most of their motivation from its mission and goals * Attending to the bottom half, not just the top half: * Find the time to attend to the poor and mediocre performers, even if it means personal sacrifice. Normally, it is cheaper and easier to rejuvenate under-performers than it is to replace them. Marine Drill Instructors, despite their legendary toughness, refuse to give up on any recruit. Encouraging self-discipline as a way of building pride: * Demand that everyone act with honor, courage, and commitment. For example, Southwest Airlines turn s its planes around in less than half the time that is needed by most competitors; not by fear of punishment, but by a desire to be the best. * To emulate the Marines, many executives would have to embrace the notion that front-line workers can lead. (Jon R. Katzenbach and Jason A. Santamaria. Harvard Business Review â€Å"Firing Up the Front Line. † May-June, 1999, pp. 107 to 117. ) 70. Is there an ideal percentage of leaders in a company?Can an excess of leaders turn into a problem? * Every organization is unique, hence it will require a different percentage. But every leader and supervisor must display some form of leadership, they cannot simply be bosses and expect the organization to become a great organization. As far as excess, how can you have too much of a good thing; is there such a thing as a company having too much profit? 71. Which of the following g statements about leadership is false? a) Leadership does not necessarily take place within a hierarchical structur e of an organisation b) Not every leader is a manager ) When people operate as leaders their role is always clearly established and defined d) All of the above 72. What is better for a company that does not have huge sums to invest in training: try to build a team of leaders, with all the failure possibilities, or concentrate on building a good team of efficient managers? * Why would there be more failure possibilities with a team of leaders than with a team of managers? Managers can get things done, but they have to have leaders and leadership abilities of their own. Otherwise, what will hey get accomplished? It takes leaders to have visions. Once you have your vision, it needs to be framed in general terms and communicated to your team. Your team then develops the ends (objectives), ways (concepts), and means (resources) to achieve the vision. Except for developing the means (resources), all of these are leadership tasks. 73. Can someone be a good leader, but not a good manager? W hich is better for a company? * Just as there are many managers who cannot lead, there are many leaders who cannot manage. And neither is better for a company.Both strip the company of a valuable resource — a leader who can get things done or a manager who can lead her employees. 74. Answer True or False: Anonymity inevitably has a negative impact on group members. * True 75. Select the right answer: Which of the following is a leadership activity? a) Reviewing and evaluating the delivery of a project b) Planning and undertaking performance reviews and monthly supervision sessions c) Empowering and inspiring others to take responsibility for aspects of the service they deliver d) Drafting a service budget and consulting the management team about it.