Leader Characteristics Essay -- Sociology Leadership Leader Management

Leader Characteristics Charismatic leadership is one of four subdivisions of the larger concept of transformational leadership (Bass, 1990). Charismatic leaders are self-confident, dominant, purposeful, articulate, influential, idealistic, and expressive. They have high energy levels, strong convictions, the ability to display empathy, and are risk takers (Bass, 1990). By stimulating "ailing corporations, revitalizing aging bureaucracies or launching new enterprises" (Howell and Avolio, 1995), charismatic leaders demonstrate how truly effective they can be. These leaders are often described as visionaries, with a strong sense of the future and a passion for their vision. They are able to achieve the vision by developing strategies to accomplish the long term goals associated with the vision. Expressiveness is an important quality in charismatic leaders. Charismatic leaders can utilize nonverbal cues "to move, inspire, or captivate others" (quoted in Bass, 1990). According to Bass (1990) the charismatic's "tone of voice is engaging and captivating, and their facial expressions are animated." Charismatics must convey an aura of complete self-confidence. This self-confidence enables them to become "larger than life" (Bass, 1990) in the eyes of their followers. Another quality attributed to charismatics is eloquence. In order to reach the audience, he must possess the ability to speak directly to them. The message has to reach the audience in a fundamental way, a way which addresses their needs. High energy levels are necessary for a charismatic to be successful. This allows the leader to "relentlessly promote their beliefs with boundless energy" (Howell and Avolio, 1995). Bass (1990) also notes that charismatic leaders are s... ...ion. These leaders have great power over there followers and it is not always positive, as evidenced by many of the charismatic leaders seen in history. References Bass, Bernard M. Bass. (1990). Bass & Stogdill's handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications (3rd ed). New York: The Free Press. Howell, Jane M., & Avolio, Bruce J. (1995). Charismatic leadership: Submission or Liberation? Business Quarterly. 60, 62-70. Mirriam-Webster Dictionary. (1997). Springfield, MA: Mirriam-Webster. Nur, Yusuf Ahmed. (1998). Charisma and managerial leadership: The gift that never was. Business Horizons, 41(4), 19-26. Pillai, Rajnandini, Schriesheim, Chester A., & Williams, Eric S. (1999). Fairness perceptions and trust as mediators for transformational and transactional leadership: A two-sample study. Journal of Management. 25(6), 897-933.

Perfectionism and Athlete Burnout in Elite Sports: The Mediating Role o

Over the past few decades, American society has become more and more obsessed on performance outcomes and winning; being declared the best has become most important (Crain, 2004). Winning is often viewed as an all or nothing virtue, whereby greatness is a descriptive term reserved only for those whose names appear at the top of the list (Hanchon, 2011). This evolving mindset communicates to our youth that despite his or her efforts, only the final results matter. For many individuals the ideas of achievement, excellence, and self-worth have become highly dependent upon the perceived outcomes of the competitions or events in which they engage (Hanchon, 2011). Outperforming one’s competitors serves as the defining characteristic of success or excellence, which in turn, appears to serve as a key determinant in the individual’s self-assessment of life satisfaction (Harackiewicz, Barron, & Elliot, 1998). Sport performance is mediated by positive and negative variables; the pressure to perform for a result leads to the negative variable of higher expectations on the athlete. Stress and the pressure to perform are both contributing factors to higher anxiety levels, overtraining, and burnout in athletes (Weinberg & Gould, 2007). In some cases, â€Å"higher expectations also appear to increase the amount of stress an athlete may experience, and higher levels of stress are generally related to higher levels of state anxiety and burnout† (Jones & Hanton, 1996; Raedeke & Smith, 2001). Burnout Fear of failures, frustration, high expectations, anxiety, and other pressures to perform are all stresses identified as being related to burnout (Dale & Weinberg, 1990). Burnout has been addressed in the Old Testament (Exodus 18:17-18), in which ... ...ation and affect on elite athlete burnout susceptibility. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 28, 32-48. Lonsdale, C., Hodge, K., Rose, E. (2009). Athlete burnout in elite sport: A self-determination perspective. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27, 785-795. Raedeke, T. D. (1997). Is athlete burnout more than stress? A commitment perspective. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 19, 396-417. Raedeke, T. D., & Smith, A. L. (2001). Development and preliminary validation of an athlete burnout measure. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 23, 281-306. Vallerand, R. J. (2008). On the psychology of passion: in search of what makes people’s lives most worth living. Canadian Psychology, 49, 1-13. Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D, (2007). Foundation of sport and exercise psychology (4th ed.). Chapter21: Burnout and Overtraining (pp. 489-509). Champaign, IL: Human

Case Study Classic Watch Essay

1-2) After analyzing the structure of the Classic Watch Co, we have come to a conclusion, that the company is product oriented. The founder of the company Harry Brainch used to develop his product and then to find consumers. According to the case, he is quite a conservative person, who prefers old-fashioned business techniques. Twenty years ago, customers were less choosy and they were happy to have a product that is good value for money. In that case, Harry Brainch’s strategy fitted really well. However, times are changing and new market is much more complicated and severe. The competition is tough and product with simple design and good durability is not as attractive as it used to be in the past. According to this, product-oriented approach is not likely to succeed. A famous example of product-oriented company is the original Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford made one model in one color (black), no matter what the consumer might want. Although he followed this strategy for quite a long time, finally, Ford Motor Company had realized the need of customization and now we have Ford cars in various colors. The situation is the same with Classic Watch Co, the faster Mr. Brainch realizes that his old techniques are no longer useful – the better sales will improve. Probably, he should try to change his methods to become more market oriented. For instance, Apple has always been a great example of market-oriented company. Apple has achieved world fame by constantly monitoring market and then adjusting its marketing mix to response to the market needs. The Classic Watch Co should follow example of Apple and start developing new marketing strategy. To sum up, the old strategy is no longer successful because of following reasons: 1) same old-fashioned design 2) new needs and desires of consumers 3) change in consumer’s income (it became higher) 4) the old strategy did not take into account wants of modern consumers 5) reasons for buying watches have changed 3) In our opinion, Harry need to divide market into 3 segments. The first one – â€Å"Economical†, which include people, who are ready to pay the lowest price for any good-working watches. Even if they will be broken in the first year, person from this segment just substitute them by new one. They are mainly price-concerned. Brand and design of the watches is not the main point. The second segment – â€Å"Longevity and quality†. This group in search for watches with a good durability, quality and design. They ready to overpay for this features. This group is the biggest one. The third segment – â€Å"Symbolic† one. Watches should be prestigious, elegant, mainly maid from precious metals and gems. People from this segment buying not just watches, but unique qualities and emotional value. To be successful, The Classic Watch Company need to create watches suitable at least â€Å"Economic† and â€Å"Longevity and quality† segments. 4) Nowadays The Classic Watch Company is no longer succeeding company, but a policy of market segmentation could turnover situation. Segmenting market can help them increase sales and market share, protect brand and provide a variety of other benefits. By positioning themself with a specific benefit, they could create a unique selling proposition that sends a message to a target audience looking for that benefit. If The Classic Watch Company cater to a specific audience, they could lose sales among potential customers outside their target audience but increase overall sales by attracting more customers in your target audience. With specific market segments to reach, they can decrease distribution channels, targeting those outlets that have the highest amount of traffic from their desired customers. By limiting your audience, they can choose magazines, websites, radio and TV stations and events that their customers are more likely to hear, see, visit or attend. As we see, there are pl enty of benefits, which are necessary for modern company to survive.

Internet and Children Essay

Nowadays, in the world in which we live, violence is reported everywhere. It makes parents became worried. So, they try to protect their children from the adverse impacts in society. But although society has taught us that violence is not accepted, in the essay â€Å"Violent Media is Good for Kids,† Gerard Jones tries to convince people, especially the kids’ parents, that violent media is good or furthermore, it is essential for the development of children. He uses his own childhood as an example of how media or The Hulk helped him switch to â€Å"more sophisticated heroes† (Jones 195), and â€Å"finally found my own lead along a twisting path to a career and an identity† (Jones 196). Afterwards, his son was afraid to climb a tree, so Jones read the stories of Tarzan to his son. Then later, his son was climbing trees. He also gives other examples of how violent media helped children to overcome their stressful and hurtful lives. A healthy child must grow b oth physically and mentally. Especially, mental illness in children can be hard for parents to identify. Gerard Jones admitted that he grew up too passive because he was sheltered from the media. In recent years, there has been dispute about whether or not children should view, or listen to violent media. In â€Å"Violent Media is Good for Kids† Gerard Jones says that we should. He noticed that â€Å"people pulling themselves out of emotional traps by immersing themselves in violent stories. People integrating the scariest, most fervently denied fragments of their psyches into fuller senses of selfhood through fantasies of superhuman combat and destruction.† (Jones 196) .Each person’s childhood is often associated with something, for example, Donald Duck, Superman, or Barbie doll, Batman, etc†¦ Those characters sometimes play an important role in the formation of their life. After finding his favorite character, The Hulk, Jones â€Å"finally found my own lead along a twisting path to a career and an identity† (Jones 196). Jones’s son, perhaps, admires Tarzan, who was told by his father to support him to climb a tree. To Jones, a super hero model can give kids strength and make them brave. Children need a way to express their natural rage and by allowing them to read these stories or play battle just for fun with their friends helps them develop into kids that will interact with each other. All kids feel rage, so if they let it out in a safe way, they can use it to combat challenges in life. Thus, violent media helps them develop into people who are not afraid to stand up and take charge. Jones tries to prove that violent media can help kids if it is used in the right way. He writes a quote from Melanie Moore, Ph.D., a psychologist who works with urban teens, t o support his argument. He does however include examples as to why he believes that violent media is good for children. But he does not include statistics to back-up his arguments and this is a weakness of Jones’s essay. His examples might not be credible because he presents himself as one of the evidences and each child develops differently. We can see every child takes a different way to explore the world. Many children will grow up like Jones. They will find themselves in the real world and know who they are if they were allowed access to the media. He states â€Å"When we try to protect our children from their own feelings and fantasies, we shelter them not against violence but against power and selfhood.† (Jones 197) .Parents cannot ban their kids playing video games or watching violent cartoons but as adults, they must know which one is good, which one is bad for our kids. When parents try to protect their children from the influence of violence, they need to rem ember that although comics and video games are full of violence and fighting, they also have messages and some good lessons. Parents always loves their children, so Jones uses the phrase â€Å"when we tries to protect our children† to let the parents know that he sympathized with their concerns. But then he says: â€Å"we shelter them not against violence but against power and selfhood.† The word â€Å"shelter† means to protect from something harmful. He emphasizes that the harmful thing is not violence but it is harmful to children losing their power and selfhood. However, some children might take the message of the stories the wrong way, putting themselves too deep into a story. They may hurt themselves or the others because they thought that they were strong like their favorite hero. As increasing violence in the media would be certainly dangerous for society and corrupt a child’s thoughts and imagination through blood, knives and guns, those were called â€Å"a tool to master their rage† (Jones 196). â€Å"I’m not going to argue that violent entertainment is harmless. I think it has helped inspire some people to real-life violence. I am going to argue that it’s helped hundreds of people for everyone it’s hurt, and that it can help far more if we learn to use it well.† (Jones 197) .Jones admits that violent media is n’t harmless and that it does drag some children to doing real life violence, but he does not say specifically what should be done about this issue. He goes on to say that it has helped more than it has harmed. There is much research on whether children should or should not access to violent media. By giving some evidence as well as using quote authority to support his thesis, Gerard Jones made a good essay to persuade that violent media is one of the factors that children need to develop. The title â€Å"Violent Media is Good for Kids† is also impressive. It makes the readers curious because â€Å"violent† and â€Å"good† may sound contradictory. However, his essay is interesting but not enough to convince. A good way to protect the children is to give them the right tools in life, and teach them how to make it a responsible choice and how to protect themselves from bad temptations. â€Å"All violence is the result of people tricking themselves into believing that their pain derives from other people and that consequently those people deserve to be punished.† (Rosenberg) Works Cited Jones, Gerard. â€Å"Violent Media Is Good for Kids.† Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 195-197. Print. Rosenberg, Marshall B. Nonviolent Communication: A language of life. California: PuddleDancer Press, 2003. Print.

Raphael Lemkin

The Raphael Lemkin Award of the Institute for the Study of Genocide honors a pioneer in social justice. Raphael Lemkin, an attorney descended from Polish Jews, lived from 1900-1959 through two world wars and the Great Depression. Born in Imperial Russia before the October Revolution, he saw his related ethnic groups suffer atrocities in the early 20th century. This added later to his interest in the larger problem of genocide, a word he created from genos (Greek: race) and –cide (Latin: killing). During his graduate law education, he focused on the 1915 Armenian Genocide (ch. 1) of WWI and advocated its abolition in the League of Nations. He took on the case of Soghomon Tehlirian, assassin of a former Turkish Minister of the Interior as revenge for his role in the Armenian Genocide. Lemkin moved on to champion victims of the 1933 massacre of Christian Assyrians by Iraqis and then advocated for the minorities targeted by Nazis in Europe (ch. 2), especially Jews and the Poles. Joining the Polish Army, he himself lost 49 relatives in the Holocaust. His studies and his life experiences drove him on. It was difficult to convince America, other Allies, and the world that a Holocaust was actually occurring (ch. 3), partly due to anti-Semitism in many regions. Additionally, major nations were concentrating to fight back the Nazis and the Japanese in two theaters, with little notice at first of the plight of the Jews and the ghetto Poles. Knowing that this was all fact, Lemkin campaigned to educate the world about mass murder by naming it genocide and giving it the darkest personality. In 1944, he published Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, with his definition of this atrocity and continued to advocate his case against it publically. He spoke and wrote documents calling for the world to outlaw it through the United Nations. Humans’ committing same-species mass murder and psychological abuse against minority and ethnic groups was unnatural, twisted, and immoral. In light of his advocacy, he changed teaching and advising positions under political pressure to stop stirring up dissension, finally moving to USA in 1941. After his 1944 publication, he was able to become advisor to the US Supreme Court in the Nuremburg trials in which genocide was tried for two years. American policymakers did not wish to speak out against genocide or have responsibility for leading a movement against it. A large-scale military strike would — and did — cost many lives, dollars, and criticisms. It required a national commitment to Jews long-term and the related criticism. Lemkin continually spoke about genocide, finally bringing about the 1948 U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948 (ch. 4), in the same year that Israel became a nation. Unfortunately, Lemkin's last years suffered much opposition from policymakers who did not want to continue efforts against genocide. However, Senator William Proxmire and President Ronald Reagan provided additional impetus some time later for the successful ratification of Lemkin’s Genocide Convention (ch. 5). Lemkin had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded other honors, and accomplished much. Thus, he likely believed that justice would finally win out over genocide in the second half of the 20th century, spurred on by the foundation of his accumulated actions and their results. References Power, Samantha. A Problem from Hell†: America and the Age of Genocide. Chapters 1-5 (17-78).

Fahrenheit 451 and There Will Come Soft Rains Essay

A majority amount of stories may have a similar trait to another piece of writing. A large amount of stories have been compared in ways such as theme, settings, characters, irony, and close evidence of foreshadowing. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains,† by Ray Bradbury are an example of similar stories by sharing some of the same qualities. These two readings can be said to be identical in some ways by containing a common idea of negative effects of war and the value of the natural world but can be contrasted by being consisted of two different kinds of main characters. Fahrenheit 451 shows these aspects throughout the novel. In Fahrenheit 451 Mrs. Phelps says, Anyway, Pete and I always said, no tears nothing like that. It’s our third and we’re independent. Be independent, we always said. He said, if I get killed off, you just go right and don’t cry, but get married again, and don’t think of me. (Bradbury 95) This shows negative effects of war by saying that Mrs. Phelps shouldn’t cry if her husband is killed and needs to get married again and be independent like her and her husband always said. This can be compared to all the wives who lose their husbands in war and become widows. In Fahrenheit it shows the value of the natural world. This is shown when Faber says, â€Å"NO, no, it’s not books at all you’re looking for! Take it where you can find it, in old phonograph records, old motion pictures, and in old friends; look for it in nature and look for it in yourself† ( Bradbury 128). This shows that Faber values that natural and thinks everyone should look at it the way he does. Nature should be valued and many people take advantage of it in Faber’s opinion and even do it in today’s world. Fahrenheit’s main character is Montag and is demonstrated With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his solid head, and his eyes all orange flame with- the thought of what came next, he flickered the igniter and the house jumped up in gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. (Bradbury 3) Montag is the main character who is the firefighter who ignites homes if they contain any books. This seems very odd because in today’s society Fireman are supposed to stop fires and save lives not start them. These three points of comparison and contrast are also shown in Bradbury’s other story, â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains.† The short story, â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains† is similar to Fahrenheit 451 but readers can also see different aspects in both readings. â€Å"This house was the one home left standing. At night the ruined city gave off a radioactive glow which could be seen for miles† (Bradbury 615). Radioactive means that there was some type of nuclear weapon that destroyed the city. So the one home that was left became independent after everything was destroyed. Nature will live on even if man is gone and nothing is living on earth (Bradbury 615-617). This is shown by nature taking over this city after all men depart. All of the plants and trees are still living by themselves with no help from and will continue to grow on their own. â€Å"The house tried to save itself. Doors sprang tightly shut, but the windows were broken by the heat and the wind blew and sucked upon the fire† (Bradbury 618). The house was the main character because it was the only thing left in the city and was very significant. The house tried to save itself by fighting the fire and trying to stop it from burning it down just like our firefighters do today. Negative effects of war, value of the natural world, and main characters are all compared and contrasted in Fahrenheit 451 and â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains.† Montag and the house were both the main characters from the different stories and could be said to be very different in many ways. Mrs. Phelps and her husband in Fahrenheit and the house in soft rains were both independent t and showed the trait of negative effects of war. The value of the natural world was shown in both stories by being mentioned many times and that people should real appreciate what it does for us and not take advantage of it. In the society of today, Americans dying and wives losing their husbands to violence in war is very visible and is a negative effect just as it is in both pieces of reading. In different eyes of readers these stories can be said to be similar and different in multiple ways.

Adelphia Scandal Essay Example for Free

Adelphia Scandal Essay ? Adelphia was founded in 1952 by John Rigas and his brother Gus Rigas in Coudersport, Pennsylvania with the purchase of their first cable franchise for $300. After 20 years, the Rigas brothers incorporated their company under the name Adelphia which derived its name from a Greek word which means brothers, an apt corporate title for a business that would employ generations of the Rigas family. Adelphia was a cable television company and built its success on a strong commitment to customer care; and because of this commitment, a glorious growth spree would follow. By 1998, Adelphia passed the two million-customer milestone and served approximately 5.6 million cable television customers nationwide. The company made significant strides in product development and the implementation of fiber optic technology and expanded their home and business offerings to include digital cable, local and long distance telephone services, messaging, enhanced data, high-speed Internet and video services . John Rigas managed Adelphia from its corporate headquarters in Coudersport, PA. His brother Gus sold his interest in Adelphia in 1983. And after some time, John’s sons Michael, Timothy and James, serve as executive vice presidents, directors and principal stockholders. John built Adelphia on a strong commitment to family, community, quality service and customer care which became the core values and culture of the company. The Evolution of Adelphia In August of 1986, Adelphia Communications went public. Its first three years were focused on generating revenue by increasing its customer base through mergers and acquisitions. Although the company’s profitability had suffered as a result of the ambitious expansion, its revenue-generating capabilities had not. From the $30 million generated in sales during its first year, annual sales shot up to $131 million in 1988. Adelphia continued to make its presence known by making several important acquisitions of other cable systems such as the Suburban Buffalo System from Comax Telcom Corp., the South Dade System from Americable Associates, Ltd., New Castle System from Cablentertainment, Inc., and Jones Intercable which was the third largest cable system operator in New York during that time. Moreover, Adelphia entered into a partnership with unaffiliated parties to form Olympus Communications in southeast Florida which became a powerful money-making business as it served roughly 250,000 subscribers in West Palm Beach area. Adelphia was performing admirably and continued to expand by making other acquisitions and consolidation maneuvers through 1999 and 2000, bringing its subscriber base up to an impressive 5.5 million. Though the company was heavily indebted after the succession of major purchases of other cable companies, equipment, and infrastructures, analysts were looking favorably on Adelphia as late as January 2002, noting that the company was well positioned for acquisition or merger with another major cable company. The Discovery of the Fraud Oren Cohen, a high-yield-bond analyst for Merrill Lynch had followed Adelphia for a decade and thought there was something about the family’s spending that didn’t add up. He’d noticed that the Rigases were buying their own stock aggressively, but he couldn’t figure out how they were paying for it. They didn’t appear to have the cash themselves. John Rigas made $1.4 million in 2000. Michael, Tim, and James each took home $237,000. The Rigases didn’t have any sources of income outside Adelphia. They never sold their stock, and it didn’t pay a dividend. Cohen was pretty sure their private cable systems weren’t throwing off cash. But every time Cohen tried to get an explanation, Adelphia rebuffed him. On March 27, 2002, however, Adelphia officials disclosed $2.3 billion in previously unrecorded debt incurred through co-borrowings between Adelphia and other Rigas family entities under the umbrella of the family’s private trust, Highland Holdings. Under these loan agreements, the Rigas entities were responsible for repaying the debt, but if they were unable to do so, Adelphia would be liable. Cohen was astounded to see the footnote disclosure and pressed Tim Rigas for details at the end of a conference call that day. Things in Coudersport quickly spun out of control as shareholders asked for clarity and transparency. The revelations and the investigation that followed sent the company spiraling deeper and deeper into a scandal that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) eventually called, â€Å"one of the most extensive financial frauds ever to take place at a public company† . The stock continued to fall and on May 15, 2002 John Rigas resigned as chairman and CEO. Adelphia Scandal. (2018, Nov 11).