Business and Society - Leadership and Motivation Coursework

Business and Society - Leadership and Motivation - Coursework Example The steps taken in managing failure include managing cash flow, avoiding debt and developing an effective business plan. Leadership and motivation are important determinants of success in a business entity. Effective leadership guides employees towards the achievement of the entity’s goals and objectives (Caroll and Buchholtz 35). Additionally, employee motivation helps improve employees’ productivity resulting in an overall improvement of the firm. Leaders are different from managers in various ways. Leaders focus on people while managers focus on structure. Leaders innovate while managers administer (Caroll and Buchholtz 42). Leaders inspire trust while managers control. Retired General Colin Powell defines leadership as followership. His definition of leadership is accurate since leaders act in a way that inspires those that follow them. I agree with his definition of leadership is all about inspiring one’s followers. There are various leadership styles including bureaucratic, charismatic, servant and transactional (Caroll and Buchholtz 45). The style I prefer most is servant leadership since the leader leads since it considers employees’ participation. The style I prefer least is bureaucratic leadership since it inhibits innovation, creativity and flexibility. Dr Phil’s and Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs can be used to motivate and manage employees. Employee motivation increases their productivity (Caroll and Buchholtz 47). It is clear that money is not the sole motivating factor, other aspects including the working conditions impact employee management and motivation. An organization is a social unit of individuals that is designed and managed to pursue collective objectives (Caroll and Buchholtz 7). The specific characteristics of an organization include an organizational culture and the ability to work towards collective goals and objectives. Corporate culture refers to behaviours, beliefs and values that establish how a company’s management interacts with its employees and how it handles any external transactions.  Ã‚  

Battle of the Bulge Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Battle of the Bulge - Research Paper Example However, the Germans were crushed by the joint armed forces of Bastogne and St. Vith that placed the Germans’ communication lines in danger. The St. Vith encounter chose time over space: the time required to set up a strong shoulder defense on the Bulge’s northern border.2 The triumphant defense of Bastogne’s transportation center pushed German forces into combat grounds and reset the German timeframe.3 Military Tactics of the Battle of the Bulge In the two encounters, a combination of intense and mild defenses was employed successfully. In the northern side, airborne and infantry forces reinforced the 7th Armored Division stronghold in St. Vith. The 7th Armored Division’s triumphant fighting withdrawal provided an opportunity to assemble a solid defense on the Bulge’s north border.4 This disrupted the timeframe for the German offensive and its troops were not able to recover their strength; hence, the German circumstances for victory were never att ained. In the southern side, the traces of the 9th and 10th Armored Divisions, as well as their crude weaponry and a number of VIII Corps Artillery forces, gave the armament support and mobile counter-offensive force for the overpowered units of the 101st Airborne Division enclosed in Bastogne.5 The Bastogne stronghold demonstrates how a light force, reinforced with armament support and well-equipped forces, was successful in holding out the assault of heavily armed German troops. This case was adopted as part of the basis for the creation of U.S. light divisions and to validate their importance in a NATO context.6 As a proof to the value of a combination of light and heavy forces in mid- to- high-level fighting, combinations of heavy and light forces have been required for the circumstances of the Army’s Battle Command Training Program’s automated, HQ practice combat games. They have been proven successful in Iraq as well.7 The capacity to envision the combat zone, as in the focused lens of Napoleon, that defines an exceptional war leader, was shown by General Anthony McAuliffe, Troy Middleton, and Bruce Clarke in making a decision where to battle and how to carry it out. Middleton understood that controlling the major road intersections of Bastogne and St. Vith for the longest possible time was needed to ward off the German forces.8 By choosing to defend these road intersections, Middleton identified the battle’s operational direction. McAuliffe and Clarke contributed to the cause by understanding the enormity of their task and by confronting excellent strategic battles to control those road intersections and hinder the opponent.9 Another official who was able envision the combat zone and who had an outstanding hold of his battleground was Lt. Col. Creighton W. Abrams, who led the ultimate attack that released Bastogne.10 According to a report: Abrams, when he got into combat, knew everything was going on. How he knew it, nobody knew, bu t he did. He knew where every tank was. He knew where every piece of equipment was, and he could command and move his outfit and always defeat the enemy in front of him. It was just that simple.11 Abrams undoubtedly had situational understanding and a general working image of what was taking place. Although Middleton and his commanding officers were able to envision the combat zone after the Germans revealed their plan, the German deception scheme was

Toyota Business Strategies Analysis

Toyota Business Strategies Analysis The following will focus on identifying and analyzing of Toyotas business strategies which lead them to success, as well as critical comparison and contrast will be provided Toyotas current strategies. Due to the global crisis which is the globalization, Toyota is facing with new opportunities and challenges; according to Porters five forces (2008), threats of rivalry among existing competitors, new entrants, substitutes, power of both consumer and suppliers are making them worried, Therefore, it is necessarily find out the ways to gearing themselves up to cope these crisis. In the end suggestive solution and recommendation will be laid out to improve the business strategies. THE HISTORY OF TOYOTA Toyota Motor is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan and is the worlds biggest automaker. Toyota now owns and operates Lexus and Scion brands and has a majority shareholding stake in Daihatsu Motors, and minority shareholdings in Fuji Heavy Industries Isuzu Motors, and Yamaha Motors. The company includes 522 subsidiaries. Vehicles were originally sold under the name Toyoda from the family name of the companys founder, Kiichiro Toyoda. (online Accessed on 13-04-2010) TOYOTAS BUSINESS STRATEGY Toyota is the most leading Japanese automobile company. By creating more innovative car design and spending billions dollars in advertisement a year, Toyota has appeared in the eyes of many auto consumers worldwide. By producing high quality vehicles at affordable prices, Toyota has built its reputation globally. Toyota has reduced their prices as compared to other automobile makers. Toyota believes that the role of purchasing should be long term at the lowest price and no compromise on the production of quality products. Normally, companies do not want to cut their targeted return and they follow the strategy which is formulated in to the cost + profit = selling price. But Toyota takes a slightly different strategy which is formulated in to the price-cost=profit. Strategic management has a direct impact on its business in all organizations. Thats why Toyota has become leading company in auto industry because of the attractive strategic management policy. Now, Toyota plans to build t raining centers in different parts of the world, where they can easily train their new workers and managers how to design new cars and assemble them. Toyota is constructing more new factories. Although, it has already plants in 27 countries. When Toyota enters in US, everyone believes that this company will not be able to run a successful business. But, at present Toyota is leading in auto companies worldwide because of its strategic management planning. Solid Foundation As part of Toyota Customer First plan, Toyota is reinforcing our systems for building in excellence that reflects the customers point of view. Toyota is painstakingly getting better design quality by analyzing the causes of inconvenience from the design stage, which is the foundation of quality. Toyota is also honing their capability to analyze quality on manufacture lines by introducing in-line dimension. And, Toyota are reasserting basic assurance that assembly processes fabricate in excellence by introducing a team-leader structure for training production in human resources. Furthermore, in an effort to develop quality from side to side production and development, Toyota is collaborating intimately with suppliers. During this range of initiatives, Toyota is gradually producing results. It can say that, quality improvement never ends. Consequently, to avoid gratification, Toyota will use those initiatives as a starting point for more quality enhancement efforts. Growth Philosophy For the last decade, Toyota has focused on product and supply, sales and marketing and widespread advanced technology strategy, as well as the improvement of conventional hybrid vehicles, battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) and fuel cell hybrid vehicles (FCHVs). Toyota believes that a transformation of people and technology lies at the heart of a companys competitiveness. As a result, Toyota is moving forward with personnel training based on the beliefs that developing human resources is a key part of manufacturing. These efforts expand ahead of simply having employees obtain knowledge and skills that development, production, or sales divisions need. Internationally, Toyota is implementing programs to facilitate all employees to embrace Toyotas culture and values and be aware of Toyota Way. (Online: accessed on 12/04/2010) Technology For development of an extensive range of technologies and products with focus on market formation, Toyota has determined on a wide-ranging advanced technology strategy, as well as the expansion of conservative hybrid vehicles, battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) and fuel cell hybrid vehicles (FCHVs). The strategy of sustainable mobility goes further than now the vehicles themselves. Instead it integrates: The vehicles and technologies, as well as their whole life cycle measurementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.from improvement and production, to vehicle use, to how the vehicle is recycled at end of life. The partnerships that are essential to bring these advanced technologies to market The energy compulsory to power the technology, i.e.) how is the electricity generatedcoal, natural gas, solar? The urban atmosphere in which these products will function, as well as how the personal car fits into a mixed mobility transit strategy, re-charge/ re-fuel infrastructure, car sharing, etc. This wide-ranging strategy acknowledges the fact that there are many considerations when bringing a vehicle to market. By inspiring the discussion above individual technologies, Toyota is working to make parallel the technology and the market to make sure successful introduction and implementation of advanced technology vehicles. Training According to Porter (1980), in the planning stages, it is significant to note that new-product planning emphasizes a product that is as defect-free as achievable. Toyota designs excellence into the automobile. Technical advances, such as Computer-Aided Design (CAD), have helped designers generate and transform their specifications more rapidly than before, at the same time as getting better design quality. Quality is a necessary part of the pre-production process. Quality is the dynamic strength in establishing a system that meets the goals of design, cost and production quantity. The planning segment as well establishes a plan that outlines all particulars of the examination procedure. Quality manage involves close collaboration of numerous production departments. The competitive point of view for Toyota in the mini-car segment of Europe remains good. While competition is strong, Toyota has key competencies that allow the company to succeed in this environment. Recommendations Toyotas management performed well under the crisis they had to face, the problem was identified and think tanks gave the perfect solution of switching to central database and were supported by the decision makers. On the other hand, no praise shall taken away from Toyota by recommending that if the QMS department would have been a bit more affective, the wrongly dispatched tyres for the High Revenue Lexus Customers might had never been approved and customers not had to face the inconvenience or if Toyota would have forecasted the issue before they might have chosen the Central Database approach that would have added some more to the bunch of Toyotas satisfied customer. (Online, accessed on 13/04/10) Conclusion In conclusion, auto industries have to face the challenges of trade barriers nowadays and global competition amongst the auto manufacturers has become intensive. The vision for Toyota and is to become the worlds leading automotive company and achieve great success by adopting different marketing strategies. In addition, the Toyota values are expressed through anticipating consumer needs and delivering outstanding products and services that improve peoples lives, driven by a customer focus, creativity, resourcefulness, and entrepreneurial spirit. The marketing strategies were adopted by Toyota, affect the auto industrys potential for globalization. In order to be successful, major auto suppliers should pay particular attention to market needs and consumer expectations, costs issues within product design and development, and forces within global competition and political/legal environment. It is necessary to reduce costs by global configuration of value-adding as is the most important step towards the globalization of certain industries.

Swipping IDs can be dangerous :: essays research papers

ABOUT 10,000 people a week go to The Rack, a bar in Boston favored by sports stars, including members of the New England Patriots. One by one, they hand over their driver's licenses to a doorman, who swipes them through a sleek black machine. If a license is valid and its holder is over 21, a red light blinks and the patron is waved through. But most of the customers are not aware that it also pulls up the name, address, birth date and other personal details from a data strip on the back of the license. Even height, eye color and sometimes Social Security number are registered. "You swipe the license, and all of a sudden someone's whole life as we know it pops up in front of you," said Paul Barclay, the bar's owner. "It's almost voyeuristic." Mr. Barclay bought the machine to keep out underage drinkers who use fake ID's. But he soon found that he could build a database of personal information, providing an intimate perspective on his clientele that can be useful in marketing. "It's not just an ID check," he said. "It's a tool." Now, for any given night or hour, he can break down his clientele by sex, age, ZIP code or other characteristics. If he wanted to, he could find out how many blond women named Karen over 5 feet 2 inches came in over a weekend, or how many of his customers have the middle initial M. More practically, he can build mailing lists based on all that data — and keep track of who comes back. Bar codes and other tracking mechanisms have become one of the most powerful forces in automating and analyzing product inventory and sales over the last three decades. Now, in a trend that alarms privacy advocates, the approach is being applied to people through the simple driver's license, carried by more than 90 percent of American adults. Already, about 40 states issue driver's licenses with bar codes or magnetic stripes that carry standardized data, and most of the others plan to issue them within the next few years. Scanners that can read the licenses are slowly proliferating across the country. So far the machines have been most popular with bars and convenience stores, which use them to thwart underage purchasers of alcohol and cigarettes. In response to the terrorist attacks last year, scanners are now also being installed as security devices in airports, hospitals and government buildings.

Community Memorial Hospital

As the Chief Financial Officer of Community Memorial Hospital, I realize that it is important for all individuals to get the full benefits of their insurance and to be able to get their claims processed in a timely fashion. I also realize the importance of the community patients and our employees benefiting from their health plans. The recent signing of the contract with MegaPlan Health is of great concern and worry. The cut-throat tactics, negotiation tactics, and claims processing fights of MegaPlan Health are known throughout the hospital world.The signing of this contract will not be favorable with many of the employees. For the employees to continue to use the services provided by Community Memorial Hospital, it is imperative that we become a part of the Preferred Provider Network (PPN) or risk losing employees as patients as well as members of the community. I think the advice of CEO Katrina Eaton and CNO Nancy Strittmater are very influencing. They both seem to have the employ ees’ best interest at heart.Since the contract has already been signed, it would not of great benefit to try to pull back out of the plan. As suggested by the CEO, we will prepare our own reasonable contract proposal to present to MegaPlan Health and try to come to acceptable and agreeable terms that will be pleasing to our employees and community patients. We cannot afford the risk of losing patients. This would hurt the hospital tremendously. If the people have to travel long distances and change doctors, this will not be very pleasing to them.The terms that Community Memorial Hospital will present to MegaPlan Health must show the concern of its current patients and employees and must be suitable for the cut-throat tactics of MegaPlan Health. The suggestions of the CNO to just go ahead and sign the contract and to do it immediately are of great consideration as well. Community Memorial Hospital does not need bad rumors floating throughout its halls, and we certainly cannot risk losing some of our best nurses.We certainly don’t want our employees to panic and be of great distress. As the CFO, the interests of Community Memorial Hospital are first and foremost in my mind. I definitely want to provide my employees with the best health care plan, but I don’t want to put the hospital at risk for charges that exceed above 20%. The contract proposal that we will have to prepare will definitely stress that. Community Memorial Hospital still needs to operate and stay afloat.

Open Ended Questions in Research Essay

Questionnaires and surveys are useful for determining the attitudes, characteristics, profiles, beliefs from a sample of people. In designing a questionnaire that focuses on open ended questions the main concern should be on determining the way the responses will be quantified. Open ended questions are often used in research to clarify closed questions or as a means of generating ideas. In both cases it is generally assumed that the longer and more detailed the response to an open ended question the better (Graziano et al, 2000). However, relatively little is known about the effect of factors such as question wording or questionnaire design on the response to open ended questions. There is a need to ask open ended questions when the researcher desires to probe deeper into a subject area. The use of open ended questions is more common in subjects which are relatively unrehearsed. Open ended questions are also of value, where response cannot be predicted, or maybe to the reduce potential for researcher induced bias. This method makes it possible to explore a range of ideas about a certain issue or topic. Open ended questionnaire questions can be also be quantified but in more indirect way. â€Å"Converting raw, open ended data from large sample sizes into meaningful categories that the researcher can utilize to quantify the results presents a challenge† (Culp, 1998). Several strategies can be used to convert these responses into meaningful information. Using qualitative data analysis software is rapidly becoming feasible. Using software applications that support content analysis and data linking and those that offer advanced linguistic analysis. The content-analysis applications allow an analyst to assess the number of times a participant uses a particular word or phrase in written material or transcribed remarks. By counting the frequency of words and noting the association of certain words, one can categorize themes and concepts. By thus â€Å"quantifying† the qualitative communication, an analyst can associate the resulting information with other quantitative data. A more sophisticated analysis is possible with linguistic analysis, which examines the semantics, syntax, and context of participant’s verbal communications. Linguistic analysis applications help the analyst  identify the key ideas in a text, gain an indication of the relative importance of each idea, and then develop a prediction of a participants attitude and or behavior based on the context of the remarks† (Gale, 2005). The author would also consider scoring qualitative open ended question with coded values. For example expression strong emotional response against an idea could be valued as a 3, while a moderate response could be scored as 2, and a neutral or vague response a 1. Another idea that could be utilized is coding using a Likert type scale based on how overtly strong an idea or opinion is expressed. This method could induce bias if the person doing the interview or scoring the questionnaire has a personal preference in this idea. The research question should not be made known to the person doing the scoring in order to reduce the possibility of bias. The author believes that bias could also be minimized if several individuals do the scoring and the score then be averaged. Summary The topic chosen by this author lends itself well to open ended questions as it solicits responses in terms of attitudes, opinions, and beliefs about the economy. The following open ended questions are an example of questions that might be used in an interview about this topic. †¢How do you feel about the current state of the economy?†¢What do you think caused the recent economic downfall?†¢How has the economy affected your budget?The author would use scoring qualitative open ended question with coded values. For example, strong response could be valued as a 3, while a moderate response could be scored as 2 and a neutral or vague response a 1. The author would then do an analysis of the content based on the categorizations of opinions and attitudes. In a full scale research project, the author would use a mixture of quantitative and qualitative question in order to establish opinions, thoughts, or beliefs on the subject. This would aid in the analysis of attitudes on the topic. The validity of this type of research is only in the accurate analysis of the opinions and attitudes of the participants. References Culp, K. & Pilat, M. (1999). Converting feedback into quantifiable  categories [Electronicversion]. Journal of Extension 37(4). Dilts, R., Grinder, J., Bandler, R., Delozier, J. (1980). The Study of the Structure of SubjectiveExperience, Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Vol I. CA: Meta PublicationsGale, T (2005). Let me count the words: quantifying open ended interactions with customers,Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly Pub 01-Aug-2005, RetrievedMay 3, 2009 fromwww://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0198-245360/Let-me-count-the-words.htmSmith, R. A. & Davis, S. F. (2007), The Psychologist as Detective. New Jersey: PearsonEducation, Inc. Graziano, Anthony M. & Raulin, Michael L. (2000) Research Methods: A Process ofInquiry. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.

The United States Involvement with the Kyoto Accord essays

The United States' Involvement with the Kyoto Accord essays President Bush states that "the (Kyoto accord) will harm the US economy." The entire European Union has chosen to continue to back to the accord. What is the reasoning for President Bush to withdraw? First, the United States is facing an economic decline and an energy shortage. Most of all, he doesn't want to make a "wrong" decision, that would tarnish his crystal-clear record, and make him look inferior. Our president seems to be looking out more for himself than the people that elected him to the office. The United States should not have withdrawn from the accord, especially since it has the most power on the issue. The Kyoto accord was "designed to limit the gas emissions blamed by some scientists for global warming...It commits 38 industrialized countries to emissions cut of 5.2% by 2010." It specifically targets carbon-rich gasses. The Kyoto accords "needs to be ratified by nations that together account for 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions to have legal status." If America produces roughly 25 percent of all the greenhouse gasses, that will make up a lot of the 55 percent needed to help save our earth and the people that live here. Even with all the European Union states plus Japan, Kyoto only has support from countries responsible for 36% of gases. When will it become obvious to the leaders of the free world that the environment is important? Put all of the political information aside; Bush is trying to save his reputation. He doesn't care about the lives of the people, he cares about the money they produce, and the labor they provide, that is the full extent of his attention. If he can't make money from Halliburton Oil, then any plan that opposes it is pure evil. With the Kyoto accord, it restricts greenhouse gas emissions which will cut profits from Halliburton. Why should he support something that he isn't partial to? He is the President of the United States, and many other countries look to the US for answers and...