Being a leader is not easy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Being a leader is not easy - Essay Example "Nothing matters more in winning than getting the right people on the field. Differentiation helps you do that." (Welch Way, 29 March 2009). One of the biggest challenges faced by the leaders these days is getting the right people for the job, any job can be completed by anybody but the point is how efficiently a person can do a job Leadership is all about perfection and any wrong decisions taken can prove very fatal. For instance a leader hires a person, who he believes is the right man/woman for the organization but the work of that employee proves otherwise, the organization can suffer because of the same and the loss occurred because of that wrong decision of the leader will always remain irrecoverable. It is very difficult these days to find the right people, who can commit their future to the organization but leaders are expected to have the quality of differentiation, a leader who possesses this quality can never go wrong in the process of selecting the right people for the or ganization. ... This is one of the biggest challenges which the leaders these days face, if a leader is born with this quality then major pitfalls in leadership can be avoided without facing much difficulty. The managers need to take up multiple roles and this will ensure the satisfaction of many demands. Henry Mintzberg has given a comprehensive guideline which consists of ten roles that are common to the work done by all managers. These roles are further divided into groups, interpersonal, informational, and decisional. The role of information ensures that every manager is aware of what the other manager is doing. The interpersonal role is largely responsible for providing the information and ensuring that every manager is well aware of what is going around them. The decision role makes use of the information provided by the interpersonal role and the process of decision making starts. The performance of managerial roles and the requirements of these roles is usually played at different times by the same manager and to different degrees and it depends on the level and function of management. The ten roles are described individually, but they form an integrated whole." (Henry Mintzberg , 29 March 2009). Another big challenge which the leaders of today face is the daunting task of decision making. Decision making is the most challenging task for any leader. One wrong decision can change many things around in an organization and those changes will surely be for the worse of the organization on the other hand one good decision can help the organization in more ways than one. Decision making is a very delicate process, numerous things have to be kept in mind, a leader just cannot go on making wrong decisions because that would result in disaster,

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 18

Research Paper Example There are several risks factors that have a strong influence over the global business among which some of the risks includes terrorism and violence. Apart from that, there are some other factors that have a strong ability to affect business such as Political and social activist. It has been noticed through the time that terrorism and violence bring the eminent impact on the business. It has been discussed in the book by making use of different examples that terrorism and violence have direct and indirect impacts on the business in terms of trade flow. There are several reasons due to which terrorist target business. Terrorists target the visible companies in order to get media’s attention. When a company gets attacked, it directly disrupts its economic process and production that directly or indirectly influence the different areas of the country. However, business can also influence by political or social activist. It can bring diverse impacts on the global market it can affe ct the any global business in different forms such as through, product boycott, and statements to the press, regulatory enforcement and different Internet campaigns. There are different examples have been discussed below that justify the above concept of risk in business. Terrorism enforces different effects on the business and economy of the county and the similar incident has been noted in Nigeria. Northern Nigeria has faced the similar incidents of terror and violence with a very great intensity. It has influenced Nigeria in different terms such as Foreign Exchange earnings, balance of payment, financial market, economic condition and tourism. The main aim behind the terrorism in Nigeria is to ruin the stability and security forces such as by intimidating people, and their targeted places include school, shopping centers, cafeterias and restaurants in Nigeria. It particularly denotes that terrorism is a serious threat to the country interest, and

Global Recession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Recession - Essay Example The boom in the housing market preceding the crisis was created through offering and promoting unregulated subprime mortgages in pursuit of stimulating demands to combat the slowing down in the aftermath of the busting of the dotcom bubble which led to a growth in the housing market that exceeded incomes finally culminating to the collapse. To understand the present global recession and its causes, it is pertinent to first understand any economic recession theoretically. According to Keynesian effective demand framework, a fall in real aggregate national income is triggered by a reduction in the effective aggregate demand (AD) which is composed of planned real aggregate consumption expenditure (C), a function of real aggregate national income itself, planned real aggregate investment expenditure (I), a function of the rate of returns on investment (r), Government Expenditure (G) which is usually taken to be autonomously determined and finally net export demand (defined as the difference between export demand and import demand, i.e., X - M). Now, in the Keynesian framework, there is sufficiently excess capacity to ensure prices and wages are sticky in the short run and thus a fall in aggregate demands leads to a fall in output. This fall again dampens demand for consumption expenditure which in turn leads to reduced agg regate demand and in turn reduced real aggregate output. This mechanism continues and the real aggregate income goes on falling which is tantamount to a recession. Thus it emerges that a recession must be triggered by a fall in any of the components of effective aggregate demand. (Mankiw, 2002) In fact a recession is a part of a business cycle that the economic growth of all advanced economies experiences. The idea of the business cycle is that the growth path of real aggregate output follows an oscillatory trend with the rise gradually moving onto a peak where after a reduction or contraction follows until it reaches a bottom and begins to move up once more. The movement towards the peak from the bottom or the trough is the period of expansion while the movement down from the peak to the trough is the period of recession. A period of recession is identified to be a depression if the real aggregate national income falls below the long run average trend. (McConnell & Brue, 2005) The expansion of the economy is supported and sometimes facilitated by monetary expansion on part of the monetary authority. This includes measures such as reducing the rate of interest to induce higher investment demand. This boosts the aggregate demand thereby leading to an upward spiral of rising real aggregate income. However, as the demand for investment rises there is a rise in interest rates which increase the cost of production. Further the rise in incomes which motivates greater consumer spending, thereby lead to higher commodity prices. Increased demand to invest in financial assets leads to risen asset prices. All these factors combined lead to a fall in real aggregate demand and thus a slowing down of the economy thereby triggering the downward movement (Foldvary, 2007). Often, to prevent or to restrict this downward movement, governments resort to expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to stimulate demands and motivate increased investment and consumer spending. As will be showed in what follows, the present

Train Surfing in Indonesia Essay Example for Free

Train Surfing in Indonesia Essay Train surfing is practised by many over various countries in the world. It involves riding on the outside of a moving train, and is considered illegal in many countries, but not all. The illegality or acceptance of the act is dependent on the demographics of the country, with it being considered a norm in the more destitute societies of the world (Nazam, 2010) , some of which consider it illegal, and an antisocial behaviour, and criminal activity in prosperous countries. The behaviour is innately dangerous and is associated with many risks including electrocution, falling and being crushed by the moving locomotive, all of which ultimately result in critical injury or death (Wisegeek, 2012). Despite these risks, and attempts to discourage individuals from engaging in the pursuit by authorities (Hannah, 2013), many continue to par-take in the activity for a multiplicity of reasons and attractions, which extend from economic reasons, to individual motives, such as thrill seeking. These variances in motivation across countries and amongst individuals may be explained by the criminological theories of Edgework (Lyng, 1990) ; and the Anomie-Strain Theory (Agnew, 1995) in association with Social Learning Theory (Bandura Mcclelland, 1977) . The motivations behind train surfing tends to be subjective to the culture of those who participate. In countries such as India, Africa and Indonesia, where the activity is quite prominent, those who train surf typically do so due to overpopulated trains, and in some cases, in order to avoid purchasing a ticket. In central Jakarta, during rush hour, when the platforms are swarmed with individuals pushing their way through the crowds in order to obtain a place on the next departing train, hundreds of individuals climb down from, and back up onto, the roof of the train (Morgan, 2013). Romie, who is amongst the crowd, claims that he must â€Å"train surf every day to get work. † Despite being aware of the risks associated he reveals â€Å"he has no choice – there are not enough seats inside during peak hour† (Morgan, 2013). Clearly, Romie reasons that he must engage in this activity due to the economic disadvantage of the country and lack of space on trains. This is consistent with the idea of Strain Theory, which posits that individuals engage in criminal activity due to an inability to satisfy conventional goals set by society (Agnew, 1994), and the justification that to attain these ambitions and conform to society, they must partake in criminal activity. Whilst Strain theory typically embodies the areas of crime which result in direct monetary benefit, such as theft, it is difficult to immediately ascertain said benefit from train surfing. However, the value exposes itself when it becomes understood that individuals such as Romie, must train surf as a means of transporting to work to satisfy these goals, which inherently may be associated with the Conformity aspect of Strain Theory (Merton, 1968). The phenomenon may be further understood with the consideration of Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) in that by transporting on the outside of the vehicle, the negative stimuli of overcrowding during the trip is removed, and the act remains rewarded by the arrival to the destination at the same time as other commuters who have used the train in a legal manner. Typically Strain Theory may refer to a rapid upheaval and change in society and societal norms (Agnew, 2001), however, Merton (1968) elucidates a theory referred to as Social Structural Strain, which refers to the function of deviance in societies and culturally accepted views, versus accepted means. 23-year-old Ahmad Fauzi, an Indonesian man who, like Romie, train surfs in order to get to work, says I know its dangerous but theres no other choice. When the train is crowded its impossible to squeeze inside. (AFP, 2013). In these cases, ultimately, these individuals utilise the socially accepted means of public transport to travel to work, another socially and culturally accepted aspect of life in Jakarta. However, delving further into the public transport system and ideas about accepted goals versus accepted means, it is clear that the accepted goal in this case is use of the public transport system, and the accepted means being travelling within the vehicle.

The Swimmer Essay example -- essays research papers

"The Swimmer" by John Cheever describes Neddy Merril's "swim" home. Neddy is a husband and a father, he is also a drunk. The story encompasses about twenty years of his life of alcohol which ruined not only him but also his relationship with his family. One day after waking up with a hangover he drinks a little and decides to swim home. It is obvious he is a drunk because he is constantly searching for a drink on his swim home. Neddy was a wealthy man living in a wealthy high class neighborhood in Connecticut. He lived with his wife and kids. He was popular and had material possessions. He was living the good life, maybe too good. He was well respected and could usually be found at one of the invite only parties in his area. Neddy awoke from with a hangover one day and decided to swim home via the Lucinda river. The river was composed of the pools of people in his neighborhood. It was his version of "pool hopping" his way home. The story seems to take place over the course of a day but is, in fact, a twenty year period of his life in which alcoholism takes over his life and causes his family to desert him. Each pool he hops symbolizes a party he attended at that house some time over the course of the twenty years. Some pools bring back good memories with the parties which accompanied them. some not so good such as the public pool which wouldn't accept...

Brand Management Sara Lee: The Unno Launch Essay

1. What were Grupo Sans’ brands and what brand identity did they have? Grupo Sans, a leader in Spanish underwear market in 1970s and 1980s, was founded in 1960 in Matarà ³. Becoming a part of Sara Lee Corporation, the multinational company with the biggest at that time textile division in the world, in 1991, contributed to the growth and development of the company, and has led to the fact that 9 years later(in 2000) Grupo Sans’ income accounted for more than one-fourth of Sara Lee’ income in Spain. Source: Google Images Name Year Target Group Values Name Year Target Group Values Name Year Target Group Values Abanderado 1963. 1st underwear brand of Grupo Sans. Men and young boys. Was the market leader for men’s underwear in Spain by the year 2000. Traditional, solid, masculine, attractive price, best materials. Princesa 1969. 2nd underwear brand of Grupo Sans. Young girls and grown-up women. Traditional, feminine, attractive price, best materials. Princesa 1969. 2nd underwear brand of Grupo Sans. Men and young boys. Comfortable, sophisticated, attractive price, best materials. Love at first sight! As we can see, all 3 underwear brands of Grupo Sans shared the same values: to provide their customers with the highest quality product at an affordable price. A distinctive feature of the underwear of the group was conventionality of products, which was important for the main target audience: adults and the elderly. This led to the fact that although with existing brands Grupo 1 Sans managed to become the market leader in Spain with market shares of 35% in slips and boxer shorts, 45% in men’s T-shirts, 23% in women’s T-shirts, 15% in panties, and 37% in baby’s romper suits, there was a gap in target audience between 15 and 35, who perceived the underwear as too traditional and nonfashionable, and thus didn’t want to buy it. That, and several other factors, have led the management of the company to the decision to create a new, non-traditional and modern brand of underwear – Unno. 2. When and why was the Unno brand launched? The year 1994: Here comes digital era with cell phone and Internet businesses. A new generation of brands had appeared in Spain, all attacking the youth segment and bombarding it with new concepts, new technologies, and new brands. Suddenly the understanding comes that youth is the segment that consumes most and, with the advent of social networks and other modern means of Source: Google Images communication, represents opinion leaders. Meanwhile, Grupo Sans faced difficulties in achieving further growth due to static situation on domestic market, at which 90% of sales were made. Spain had the lowest birth rate in Europe and there was zero population growth. Moreover, underwear quality was constantly improving and it took longer for garments to wear out. That is why Group Sans had to target teens in underwear industry in order to increase profit and achieve further growth. It could be made by means of line extension of the group’s traditional brand (such as Abanderado, for example) or by creating a new brand, which would specially address young people aged 15 to 35. The problem with first choice was described by Josep Maria Sans: â€Å"Boys growing up wanted their own brand once they became teenagers. Abanderado couldn’t satisfy that need because the kids had worn the same brand as children and it was also what their parents wore. The same was true of the Princesa brand in the case of girls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  That is why in 1999 the company decided to adopt a new concept, and establish a new brand Unno which became successful due to several reasons: 1) Employing the seamless garments now possible with the new technology 2) Simple and understandable for teenagers brand name â€Å"Unno†, which communicated that the product was the first, the best and unique. 3) you?† 3. Was it really preferable to laungh the Unno brand than to ext end one of the existing brands (Abanderado and/or Princesa)? The marketing campaign, with slogan â€Å"Are you wearing it, or aren’t At the moment of the launch of the new line of underwear that used the new technology, Grupo Sans was facing a dilemma: should the new line be launched as an extension of one of the group’s existing brands (Abanderado, Princesa and Ocean) or should it be launched under an entirely new brand that the company would create from scratch? 3 Given the fact that Grupo Sans’ brands have a big share of the underwear market and both are well-known brands by the consumer, the initial thought would be to extend either of these brands to launch the new solution. However, as strong as these brands were at the moment of the launch, they were targeting very specific segments: while Abanderado targeted adult men and boys, Princesa targeted adult women and girls. This meant that, even if these brands were very successful in these segments, it could be hard to extend them onto other target segments such as the one Grupo Sans identified: young adults between 15 and 35 years old. This new segment didn’t want to wear any of the other brands because they saw them as â€Å"something their parents wear†, something uncool and boring. As the following positioning map shows, none of the existing brands could easily be extended to cover the targeted segment. Moreover, if one of the brands was to be repositioned in order to fit the new segmentation, its sales from existing customers could drop significantly. In addition to this, Grupo Sans wanted the new line to be perceived as something innovative and cool and decided to give the new line the highest priority in the company. Therefore, it made more sense for them to launch the new product and new technology under an entirely new brand: Unno. That way, they could focus on building the brand from scratch and making sure it was perceived the way they wanted. 4. How would you assess Unno as a brand name? Makes think of leader Brand â€Å"the first to do something† Unifies brands for women and men Short, â€Å"cool† name – just what teenagers want May lead to confusins â€Å"Unno† or â€Å"You no† in English, for example Unno – one piece Sounds Italian – this is good for fashion industry The goal of launching the Unno brand was to create a new product line that was perceived as something modern and innovative. We believe that the name Unno fits perfectly with this goal because of several reasons. First of all the word â€Å"Unno† is an alteration of the word Uno, which means one in Spanish. This is perfectly in line with Grupo Sans’ strategy for the new brand: to be the leader in the new technology and in the new segment they target. Moreover, it can be associated with being the first to get into this market, being the first mover. In addition to this, the brand â€Å"Unno† also signifies the unification of Grupo Sans’ male and female brands. As a name, Unno sounds cool and is short enough for people to remember easily. Young adults, Unno’s main target, will feel identified with the brand and the name will help them perceive the brand’s image. Moreover, the name sounds very Italian, which can be beneficial thanks to the positive perception of Italian fashion. Finally, the name â€Å"Unno† perfectly portrays the new technology Unno represents. A one-piece garment that feels like you are not wearing anything. It becomes one with your body. 5. What were Unno’s main communication objectives in 1999 and 2000? Why? Even though there were specific communication objectives in 1999 and 2000, the main objective of Unno’s advertising was to sell the concept of a one-piece garment that moulded to the body’s shape, didn’t leave marks, and stretched to fit. The brand was communicating the idea that comfort was the main product benefit, and that it was like not wearing anything at all. Unno’s communication was also aimed at achieving brand awareness for being the first and only brand selling this kind of product at that moment. But, advertising and commercials were not exactly the same in 1999 and 2000. In 1999, the year of the new product and brand launch, the main communication objectives were to inform about the benefits of the new technology used in the new product. The company focused on letting people know what were the benefits and the garment qualities of the Unno innovative underwear. These garment qualities were mainly that it was seamless and hugged well the body, so it was pretty well related to the idea of 6 â€Å"selling comfort† to people. In order to communicate all these features and create brand awareness, most commercials had a very long audio which exposed the main benefits of the new technology. Moreover, advertising was made using provocative images as to attract people’s attention and make them know the brand and the product. The year after, in 2000, something changed. The fact that they had ran out of stock, made the company feel that not as much communication efforts were needed, so they decided not to allocate as many resources as they did while the brand’s launch and to shorten the length of the audio in commercials. So, in general terms, communication changed in the sense that less was spent on it and adverts got short, but the slogan was kept the same as the company wanted to keep on communicating what were the productâ₠¬â„¢s benefits and to generate brand awareness. The reason why the company was communicating such things was mainly to educate customers about the new technology and its benefits, in order to make them first try the product and then wanting to change from the traditional underwear to the seamless and hugging one. They decided to communicate it in an innovative differentiated way, with the half-naked models in ads, to attract people’s minds in order to recognize the product and create brand awareness. This kind of advertising was done due to the fact that they were targeting the young people segment and had to find a non-traditional way to advert non-traditional underwear. On the pictures below we can see the kind of provocative advertising that the company was doing, as well as the slogans: â€Å"Are you wearing it or not?† â€Å"You’ll feel as if you’re wearing nothing†

English and English Literature Coursework Dubliners Essay

â€Å"These stories are all about escape and how characters are unable to escape.† In the light of this quotation, I am going to discuss Dubliners, with close detailed reference to two of the stories, â€Å"Eveline† and â€Å"The Boarding House.† There are many similarities between these two stories, as well as contrasts. In â€Å"Eveline,† her father is a drunkard and is also the head of the house, whereas in â€Å"The Boarding House,† Polly’s father, â€Å"was a shabby stooped little drunkard† who lives separated from his family. Polly’s father has been cut-off from her life, and Eveline’s mother is dead. The similarity here, is that each child has had one of their parent’s cut off from a period of their life. Eveline wants to escape to Buenos Aires, to get away from her poverty in Dublin. Mr Doran wants to escape from the prospect of marriage. This brings us to one of the main points of the book, the characters inability to escape. Eveline has been given the chance to escape from her life, where â€Å"she had to work hard both in the house and at business.† Poor Eveline, however, finds that she is unable to move forward. She lacks the courage and strength to make that leap that will free her of her oppressive situation. . She’s sees her lover as a possible source of danger: â€Å"All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them: he would drown her.† Instead of an uncertain but hopeful future, her paralysis will make a certain and dismal future that may well repeat her mother’s sad life story. In Mr Doran’s case, the theme of powerlessness is conveyed his situation. As with many other characters in Dubliners, various social pressures, like his job and his reputation, combine to rob him of choice. Mrs Mooney wants her daughter to escape her current poverty and the possibility of a working life for marriage, while Mr Doran wants to escape the tying down of marriage and enjoy his ‘free’ life. Mr Doran nonetheless cannot escape. At the end of â€Å"The Boarding House†, â€Å"Mrs Mooney tells Polly, â€Å"Come down, dear. Mr Doran wants to speak to you.† The reader is struck by the tremendous irony of the situation, since it is clear that Mr Doran does not really want to speak to Polly. He has been bullied and terrified into proposing marriage to her. These simple words are the hallmark of Mrs Mooney’s accomplishment. Frank wants to take Eveline away, but Eveline is unsure. â€Å"It was hard work-a hard life-but now that she was about to leave it she did not find to a wholly undesirable life.† Polly wants to settle with Mr Doran, but Mr Doran is unsure, however he does not have a choice: â€Å"What could he do now but marry her or run away? He could not brazen it out.† Mr Doran has the choice to run away, but this is not an option for â€Å"Dublin is such a small city: everyone knows everyone else’s business.† Both Frank and Mr Doran can be seen as saving the two girls from poverty. Mr Doran and Eveline are both described as helpless. Mr Doran himself says, â€Å"I felt helpless,† while Eveline is described as â€Å"passive like a helpless animal.† At the end of each story, an iron railing is mentioned. Eveline â€Å"gripped with both hands at the iron railings,† using them as an anchor, preventing her from drowning into the seas of the world. The railings help Eveline think of thoughts which keep her from leaving. Polly uses the iron railings as an anchor to clear her thoughts. â€Å"There was no longer any perturbation visible on her face.† Both Mr Doran and Eveline feel that it is their duty to stay and face the consequences. Mr Doran â€Å"longed to ascend through the roof and fly away†¦ yet a force pushed him downstairs step by step.† Eveline finds that she is paralysed by the needs of her father and her promise to her mother â€Å"to keep the home together as long as she could.† â€Å"Eveline† starts a series of stories dealing with various kinds of marriage and courtship. In â€Å"Eveline,† marriage presents the possibility of escape. â€Å"The Boarding House† gives us marriage as a social convention and a trap. â€Å"Two Gallants† reduces marriage and courtship to its animal. â€Å"Two Gallants† gave us men taking advantage of a young woman. â€Å"The Boarding House† gives us a more respectable social setting, but the basic cynicism about love and relationships between the genders remains. The economic conditions are also expressed in â€Å"Eveline† and â€Å"The Boarding House†. To save money in â€Å"The Boarding House,† pieces of broken bread are collected to help make Tuesday’s bread-pudding. The sugar and butter is kept safe under lock and key.† In â€Å"Eveline,† there is an â€Å"invariable squabble for money on Saturday nights.† Eveline’s dead mum controls her while Mr Doran is controlled by Mrs Mooney. Mrs Mooney and Eveline’s mum are both very different people in the sense that Mrs Mooney is strong and independent and Eveline’s mum is weak and dependent. Eveline’s love for Frank leads her to escape whereas Mr Doran’s love for Polly leads him to confine his life with marriage. Eveline is forced into making her decision to stay by duty to her family. Mr Doran has put himself into his situation and it driven further by Mrs Mooney. Both Eveline and Mr Doran have occupational restrictions. Mr Doran â€Å"had been employed for thirteen years in a great Catholic wine-merchant’s office and publicity would mean the loss of his sit.† All his hard work would be gone for nothing. Eveline, however, is oppressed by her employer and â€Å"would not cry many tears at leaving the Stores.† One of the striking elements of â€Å"The Boarding House† is Mrs Mooney’s silence. Her daughter’s respect is not really a concern, because she knows about the affair from the start. What matters to her is trading on her feigned outrage to get a social arrangement that will benefit her daughter. Mrs Mooney manipulates the weaker Mr Doran, using his concern for his job and his fear of scandal. The story concludes with the fact that Mr Doran has spoken to Mrs Mooney and now wants to speak to Polly. This probably suggests a proposal of marriage, and the trap is implied in the final line: â€Å"Then she remembered what she had been waiting for.† Marriage is the price which Doran must pay in order to keep his job, since â€Å"Dublin is such a small city: everyone knows everyone else’s business† The stages-of-life structure continues in â€Å"Eveline†. In previous stories like â€Å"The Sisters† and â€Å"Araby†, children had been main characters. Eveline is an adult, a young woman old enough to get married. Joyce gives us the terrible poverty and pressure of her situation. The weight of poverty and family responsibilities bear down on this young woman heavily and her financial situation is far worse than that of the three boy narrators of the previous stories. She is trapped in an ugly situation, responsible for her siblings and the aging father who abuses her. In conclusion, it can be said that Joyce presents the themes of escape and paralysis in Dubliners. They show how Joyce sees the city of Dublin.