Leadership from the Bible Essay

The pages of History are littered with stories and legends of societies’ great leaders: Napoleon Bonaparte, a brilliant and charismatic military strategist; Mahatma Ghandi, the peaceful revolutionary; Pope John Paul II, the vibrant Roman pontiff that continues to inspire millions; Ronald Reagan, the â€Å"Great Communicator†; and the list goes on and on. And these leaders are looked upon, revered, and modeled in today’s society as those having exemplary leadership skills, having the keys to motivating, influencing, inspiring, and moving the masses to accomplish great and mighty things. But there was only one perfect, righteous leader; one who led by example, and implemented the wisdom keys from the Word of God: Jesus Christ. And He gave to us His Word, the Bible, the perfect manuscript for life, including key leadership concepts that we can be apply today. Using the life of Christ as the primary example and combining His life with God’s word, one finds perfect, holy, and successful leadership treasures that excel in relevance and effectiveness beyond history’s secular leadership examples. This paper is my exploration into how the Word defines a great leader and those wisdom nuggets that we can use today through the concepts of small beginnings, vision, service, and time management. When Israel returned from captivity to rebuild the Lord’s Temple, the Lord said through the Old Testament Prophet Zechariah, â€Å"[Do not] despise the day of small [beginnings]† (New King James Version, Zechariah 4:10). Referencing this verse, Pastor Mac Hammond of Living Word Christian Center rhetorically asks the question, â€Å"If it can’t be instantly huge, why bother? (â€Å"Small Beginnings†). The world is consumed with the concept of instant gratification, the desire to be the biggest and the best without enduring the struggle that comes with growth, but Jesus started his ministry small, with 120 passionate, committed followers. The LORD also started the Hebrew Nation with just one man, Abraham. And from that man, a great nation has grown and endured for thousands of years. And even before that, God created the first family, one man and one woman, to fill the earth and subdue it. Our God, the Christian God, is a God of small beginnings. I attend the mega-church Family Worship Center in Lakeland, FL. The church’s pastor and charismatic shepherd is Reggie Scarborough. Like the greater church body, the nation of Israel, and the beginnings described in Genesis; Pastor Reggie did not despise Family Worship Center’s day of small beginnings. In fact, I believe, he embraced it. Nearly 26 years ago, the church began with exactly 100 members and has flourished to a congregation of nearly 4,000. Great leaders do not despise or forsake the day of small beginnings. For those who suffer those small beginnings the Lord is faithful to yield much. In the financial world there are three mutually owned financial firms that separate themselves from the rest: New York Life, Massachusetts Mutual Life, and Northwestern Mutual Life. All three companies were founded in the mid-19th century with a strategy for small, slow, conservative growth. Today, the â€Å"Big Three Mutuals† are Fortune 100 companies with credit ratings and assets that surpass most other rivals in the financial markets. These companies saw the value of small beginnings, and the payoff has been a good, strong name. For me, leadership key number one is â€Å"do not despise the day of small beginnings. † To the prophet Habakukk, the Lord said, â€Å"Write the vision and make it plain†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hab 2:2). This was the Lord’s reply to Habakukk’s complaint of the wickedness befalling Judah. Habakukk was seeking justice from the Lord and an answer on Judah’s future. In similar measure, the Lord spoke through Proverbs to say, â€Å"Without a vision, the people parish†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Prov 29:18). A great leader must have a vision for the future. The text uses the phrase â€Å"mission statement [to] summarize ‘why’ an organization exists† (Kiniki and Kreitner 459). In like manner, the Word of God uses â€Å"vision† to give the people a purpose, an answer to the question, â€Å"Why do we do what we do? † A vision or mission statement also allows those in the organization to glimpse the â€Å"big picture. † Pastor Mac Hammond encourages his readers to, â€Å"Find out where you fit in the grand scheme of things. † (â€Å"The Big Picture†). It also allow for goal-setting. How will the organization accomplish the vision? Referring to the passage from Habakukk, Pastor Mac Hammond states, â€Å"Setting specific, measurable goals is a powerful exercise†¦ It’s one of the most important motivational tasks for winning†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (â€Å"The Exercise of Goal Setting†). Just as Pastor Reggie started Family Worship Center with small beginnings, he also had a vision for the congregation. That vision is espoused in the mission statement of Family Worship Center which reads: Our mission is to create a worship environment through a union of the Word of God and the Spirit of God that will stimulate a progressive Pentecostal community. â€Å"Our Mission†). Its vision allows its congregants to know why they are there and how they fit in. The vision also helps Pastor and his Board of Advisors create and manage goals for Family Worship Center’s growth. And from that growth through goals formed from the vision, Family Worship Center has grown to a mega-church that sows into ministries throughout the world. Likewise, the Big Three Mutuals all had separate, yet similar, visions. All of their stories are alike in that each of their founders laid out a vision or mission for long-term financial security and conservative growth. The following mission statement was released in 1911 from the Northwestern Mutual Life (NML) Board of Trustee, and reads as follows: The ambition of the Northwestern has been less to be large than to be safe; its aim is to rank first in benefits to policyowners rather than first in size. Valuing quality above quantity, it has preferred to secure its business under certain salutary restrictions and limitations rather than to write a much larger business at the possible sacrifice of those valuable points which have made the Northwestern pre-eminently the policyowner’s company. Shannon and Poley) This mission statement has allowed NML to grow in an efficient conservative manner for nearly 100 years, and its reputation and name is revered in the industry. Like Family Worship Center, NML’s vision has giving its policyowners and staff the ability to see NML’s big-picture, and the vision has been the guidebook NML uses when setting goals and future plans. A Vision does multiple things for any organization: It gives the organization purpose, it shows the people where they fit in with the big-picture, and it gives a clear path for goal-setting. For me, leadership key number two is â€Å"have a vision. † Another prominent leadership concept is servant-leadership. Although the term â€Å"servant-leadership† was coined by Robert Greenleaf in 1970, the concept was espoused by Christ two millennia before (â€Å"What is Servant Leadership†). Jesus promoted the idea of servant-leadership when He said to His disciples, â€Å"†¦whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (New International Version, Matt 20:26). His focus was putting others before oneself. I like the way John MacArthur describes the passage: In this rich text, the Lord was teaching the disciples that the style of greatness and leadership for believers is different [than for none believers]†¦ [Christians] lead by being servants and giving themselves away for others, as Jesus did. (1430) Servant-leadership gives the leader influence, builds moral, and provides him or her understanding. Through Jesus’ example, He did all those things. He had influence; He inspired the crowds; and His leadership style showed understanding. From a business point of view, there is an old saying, â€Å"He who serves best, profits most. † (Source unknown). And it’s true in any organization. Leaders in a church must serve the sheep, just as Pastor Reggie has done at Family Worship Center. Leaders in business must serve their clients, just as the Big Three Mutuals. For me, leadership key number three is â€Å"service. † The Apostle Paul said to the church at Ephesus, â€Å"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Eph 5:15 – 16). In comparison, the New King James uses the phrase â€Å"redeeming the times† instead of â€Å"making the most of every opportunity. † For the leader, what Paul may be inferring here is, â€Å"Use your time wisely. † In support of Paul’s letter, John MacArthur opines: â€Å"We are to make the most of our time on this evil earth in fulfilling God’s purposes, lining up every opportunity for useful worship and service (1812). In Scripture, we constantly see Jesus â€Å"redeeming the time† and â€Å"making the most of every opportunity. † He had priorities in place, taking care of the most pressing matters, first. Many of his miracle healings were interruptions in His schedule, but He often turned aside from His journey to touch the sick and heal the blind, making the most of the opportunity. He redeemed the time He had on the earth. For the Christian, Pastor Mac Hammond says, â€Å"†¦one of the most crucial lessons any leader can learn is how to use time wisely. † (â€Å"Time Management†). For me, leadership key number four is â€Å"time management†. Although this paper has addressed four keys to successful leadership, the wealth of leadership treasure in the Bible is without end. It does not matter the type of organization that applies these concepts. Whether a church like Family Worship Center, or one of the Big Three Mutuals; biblical leadership keys work. For me, if I only master these four, I believe I will be successful in both Christian ministry and the secular business world: small beginnings, the willingness to forgo instant gratification; vision, the idea that gives me purpose; service, putting others before myself; and, time management, making the most of every opportunity.

Hopi Indians Essay

This ethnography will examine the way of life and the cultures and traditions of the Hopi Indians, with the primary intention of providing the reader with the information and facts that would be needed to develop a greater understanding this ethnic community, an understanding and comprehension of how another person lives, considered vital today. The Hopi Indians are an ethnic people, perhaps the descendants of the Aztecs of Mexico, and directly related to the Anasazi. This ethnic group of people lives in Northeast Arizona near the Black Mesa. These are peaceable and wise people, whose very name indicates ‘the peaceable people’. This research will examine these prejudices as well, and reach a conclusion. The misconceptions and prejudices that the author harbored before starting this research: This author was indeed a little apprehensive about choosing this group for this ethnography research, because the author had formed an opinion that these people would be completely uncivilized and perhaps unclean as well, even if he or she is well aware that these are plain prejudices and labeling exercises, brought on by years of ethnic ignorance and a lack of awareness of other peoples and their cultures. The research questions that were brought to the study at the outset: These are the questions that the author of this research brought to mind at the beginning of the ethnographic research: Who are the Hopis? What do they do? What is their culture and what are their traditions? Do they still follow these traditions, and how have they managed to survive as an ethnic group through these years, and does modern man understand them, or has modern man ever made a serious and concerted effort at understanding these people who have lived amongst the people of the rest of the world, earning their own living and managing to hold on to their age old customs and methods, including the way in which they make their jewelry, their pottery, and their agricultural methods? The Questions that enquire into the simplistic lifestyle of the Hopi Indians, and delve into a comparison of this traditional lifestyle with the newer more materialistic one of today: This author wished to ask these questions and seek answers to them through this ethnographic research on the Hopi Indians: How did the Hopis manage to survive a simplistic lifestyle such as theirs, despite the changes and diversification that took place around them? How can such a simplistic lifestyle be compared to the materialistic lifestyle of the people of today? Purpose of the Ethnography: In general, people have always been interested in this group of people, perhaps because of the numerous stories one may have heard over the years about the Aztecs and their heroic exploits. This research will perhaps provide one with answers to questions about the simple Hopi people who inhabit a part of Arizona and who follow their own culture and tradition, and who live life on their own terms, in spite of the fact that the world in which they live has been overtaken with several kinds of changes and is today truly global in every sense of the word. Why were the Hopi Indians chosen as the subject of the research: One can hope that through this research, one would be able to successfully overcome these misconceptions; pre conceived notions and prejudices and move on to become a productive and unbiased member of the increasingly globalized world of today. The uniqueness of the Hopi Indians, and its members: It was when the research on the Hopis was started that one could arrive at the realization that today there are twelve Hopi villages, each with its own village chief, who is an individual responsible for the welfare and well being of the people under him. The Hopi Indians within their villages have managed to maintain very well the balance required of them to keep up with the prevalent Euro-American culture, while at the same time never letting go of the cultures and traditions that form a part and parcel of their ethnic identity. (â€Å"Hopi Civilization† n. d) The Hopi Indians are known for their unique agricultural methods, making them some of the most well known ‘dry farmers’ of the world, even today. (â€Å"Hopi†) Discussion: At this point it is worth mentioning the interesting Hopi traditions that have fascinated man in general from the time he first started to know about them. For example, the Hopi Indians believe that man was not created, but was rather generated from the Earth, and that he emerged from the ‘sipapu’, or what is better known to us as the Grand Canyon. Although there may be certain prominent clan leaders, the number of supernatural subordinates is virtually unlimited, and these are known as ‘kachinas’. They possess supernatural powers, and in the Hopis believe in ensuring their luck by wearing amulets and charms. Although it is possible to understand their need for rituals to bring good luck, it is a unanimous opinion that it may indeed be difficult for the modern cultures of today to understand the need for superstitions and mystic religious ceremonies that the Hopis indulge in to ensure good health and luck in their daily activities. (â€Å"Hopi Indian Tribal History† 2009) For the Hopi Indians, the priest is often considered to be the ‘ideal manifestation of the balanced mentality†¦fairly typical of the Pueblo Indians (Hultkrantz, Ake) Religion plays a very important role in these so called ‘primitive’ peoples’ lives; perhaps they fear the deceased more than death in itself, and these people believed strongly in life after death. The Hopis also believe that when the body lies asleep, the soul wanders about to far away places, and perhaps even to the land of the dead, and death arrives when the wandering soul happens to be caught in the world of the dead. (Hultkrantz, Ake 1981) The Socio-Economic status of the Hopi Indians: It is indeed fascinating that the Hopi people earned their own money, prompting one to wonder what their value system for money was. This was the reason why a decision was made to ask them these questions: what, according to the Hopis, constituted ‘earning’, and how did they earn their money? It was possible to find out that the Hopis today are more modern than one could fairly expect them to be, and while some of them were Doctors, some were architects, some teachers, and some others were potters and jewelry makers. Traditionally, though, the Hopi Indians have developed a culture that is based on hunting and gathering, and later, horticulture. All the various aspects of their culture, including their religion, their social customs and tradition, and their occupations are interwoven with each other, and this in essence would describe the value these people have for money in general. In my opinion, since money is an integral part of their culture, the Hopis do not have any special attachment to money nor do they value it as the rest of the world may do, unless they have managed to transcend their boundaries and attain a different socio economic status, like for instance earning a degree in a university and going on to become a Doctor. (Dutton, Bertha, Pauline 1983) Most of Hopi life revolves around agriculture, and one could read this statement several times during this research: â€Å"The Hopi way of life is the corn: humility, cooperation, respect, and universal earth stewardship. † (â€Å"Hopi Traditional Knowledge†) Nevertheless, when one mentions the word ‘Hopi Indian’ one automatically visualizes the exquisite pottery and jewelry that these people are able to produce, and when one understands that these crafts have been carried down from on generation to the next, one cannot help but be amazed and astonished at the tenacity of the culture and tradition of these ethnic Indian people. (â€Å"Contemporary Hopi Arts and Crafts†) Research Methods: Primary Sources: In this section the author of this research will detail the interview questions that were used in gathering the data that were required for this project. This author was able to interview Mr. ABC (a member of the Hopi Indian community who is now a teacher and who is married to an American and who lives with his family in the center of town, but still keeps in touch with his family members of the Hopi community) 1. Could you describe the ancestry of the Hopi Indian community for me, please? 2. How did your people settle down in Northeast Arizona near the Black Mesa? Was there a reason, or did it simply happen? 3. Do you and your people still follow any of the old traditions in your community? How do you manage to uphold the traditions that form a part and parcel of your identity as an ethnic group? 4. Do you believe in the integration of the old and the new? How have the Hopi Indians managed to integrate the modern day customs with their older ones? Has this integration been successful at all? 5. Do you feel that other people do not and have never made any attempt to understand your traditions and your culture? Do you feel that it is important, especially in today’s environment for other people to gain an understanding into your traditions and your way of life? 6. What do the Hopi Indians feel about their socio economic status today? 7. What, in the opinion of Hopis, is the value of money? How do the Hopis earn money, and do they place any importance or value on earning more than the neighbor as the others do, or are they content with what they are able to earn doing their chosen jobs? In addition, these sites were referred to for extensive information and reference on the Hopi Indians: Hultkrantz, Ake â€Å"The Religions of the American Indians (1981) Google Book Search Retrieved April 18, 2009 from: This book was examined for firsthand information on the Hopi Indians and their lifestyles Dutton, Bertha, Pauline â€Å"American Indians of the Southwest† (1983) Google Book Search Retrieved April 18, 2009 from: < http://books. google. co. in/books? id=ju-zrFKL4SIC&pg=PA14&dq=hopi+pueblo+indians > This research was examined for firsthand information on the Hopi Indians and their lifestyles â€Å"Contemporary Hopi Arts and Crafts† The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (1997) Retrieved April 18, 2009 from: < http://www. nau. edu/~hcpo-p/arts/index. html > This research was examined for information on the Hopi Indians and their crafts Hopi Traditional Knowledge† The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (1997) Retrieved April 18, 2009 from:

Buisness Ethics Case Write Up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Buisness Ethics Case Write Up - Essay Example Making such a decision, however, wasn’t easy because the decision would have far-reaching consequences on both the Solidarity Fund and the Gildan Company. This paper discusses and analysis the ethical dilemma that the Solidarity Fund pension scheme, a large pension fund operated by the Quebec federation of labour (QFL), finds itself in following gross misconduct by one of the Companies that the Solidarity fund had heavily invested in. In this case, Gildan Activewear, a Company in which Solidarity fund had heavily invested in was accused of an array of business misconduct ranging from overworking and underpaying workers, excessively high production quotas, and unconducive working environments. Due to the fact the Solidarity Fund had heavily invested in Gildan Activewear and, also, given the fact that the Gildan Activewear investment was the most lucrative investment for the Solidarity Fund, the management of the Solidarity found themselves in a real dilemma in deciding the best course of action to take in response to the Gildan Activewear’s unethical business misconduct. The Solidarity Fund was founded in 1983 by the Quebec federation of labour with the aim of investing its members’ savings in the local Companies. The Solidarity Fund Pension scheme had two core goals. The first goal of the Solidarity Fund was to democratize access to professionally managed retirements accounts, and the second goal was to support jobs creation and growth in Quebec, either through investment in long term and medium sized local companies or by investing in outside companies whose activities were beneficial to the Quebec province.In selecting investment partners, the Solidarity Fund used nonfinancial criteria; the Solidarity Fund sought to invest with the Companies that had conducive working conditions, positive relations with local communities, and commitment to environmental responsibility. Before investing in a Company, therefore, the

Personal Professional Development Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Professional Development - Personal Statement Example To this end, I have conducted a study and analyzed my own case, which will help me to take proper career decisions throughout my life and to achieve my professional ambitions. b. Investigation of career options: The second step is to become a career researcher. This involves identification of resources, market information, evaluation of career options and determining target organizations The following points need to be addressed: c. Focus and goal setting: The purpose of self-assessment and collection of market information is to find a focus for one's career interests. This focus emerges from the interplay of one's self-assessment and the opportunities realistically available. When one is prepared to compare how well one's skills, accomplishments, values, interests, and needs match the organization, one will then be ready to identify your career goals. One will also know the training, skills, and competencies required for his/her career, and the kinds of organizations and positions that are a good "fit" for him/her. The synthesis of information one has collected thus far will require self-reflection. d. Networking: It is an important aspect of the modern job market. ... lso know the training, skills, and competencies required for his/her career, and the kinds of organizations and positions that are a good "fit" for him/her. The synthesis of information one has collected thus far will require self-reflection. d. Networking: It is an important aspect of the modern job market. Developing, expanding and maintaining this network is a critical career development skill. It helps in remaining abreast of the current and changing environment as well as in maintaining contacts with the right persons at the right time. e. Job search skills: Apart from networking, some other important job searching skills are essential. These are resume, CV, cover letter writing, presentation, interviews and job negotiation skills. These skills enable us to properly project our strong points to the prospective employers and in getting the best possible deals. f. Career management: Managing a career is a life long process. With the job market constantly changing, we need to continuously reassess our professional development vis--vis market requirement and make up the shortcomings by following a 'learn while you earn ' approach. According to Robert H. Rouda, and Mitchell E. Kusy, Jr (Career development, personal career management and planning, Tappi journal, 1995-96), "There is an increasing need for individuals to take charge of the development of their own learning and careers for a variety of reasons: There is increasing rate of change of our organizations and in the knowledge and skills we need to perform our jobs. Career ladders are rapidly shrinking or disappearing as reorganizations lead to flatter structures. There is an ever-increasing need for us to keep learning to keep up with the rapid growth in knowledge and the rate of change of our workplace

The Hunger Games Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

The Hunger Games - Essay Example Katniss emerges winners in the game in many perspectives: she is lovely and likeable, perhaps attributes that make her the envy of other girls her age. She is adored by many because of her sheer struggles, never relenting even when other characters in the play would have given up. Katniss is the rock, the foundation of her family. She becomes a role model to her sister, Prim. She is protective. She helps a young girl, Rue, from her neighborhood with food she forages from the forest. Apart from food, they share companionship and clothing. In her words, she teamed up with the young lady â€Å"because she is a survivor, and I trust her, and why not admit it? She reminds me of my Prim† (15.28). Through her survival and protective instincts, one can conclude that she has weathered many storms even at her tender age. What is more, girls her age cannot survive on their own, let alone protect themselves. She seems to be older than her actual age. This means that she is a survivor, another quality that makes her a winner in comparison to other characters in the play. She provides for yet another boy from a different district. The girl is named Peeta Mellark. She is skilled in hunting than a boy, Peeta. She comes out as a stronger character with a resolve to succeed in life regardless of her unfortunate background. Towards the end of the play, she risks her life so that she can help Peeta by going into the dangerous forest to bring the only medicine that can cure the boy. She is a reliable character that many people, within and without her neighborhood, can depend on. She protects people whenever she can, even at the expense of her own life. She is courageous, not a coward. This makes her a winner. When it is evident to her that she could win the Hunger Games, she asks: â€Å"For the first time, I allow myself to truly think about the possibility that I might make it home. To fame. To

International aid is always welcome. Discuss Essay

International aid is always welcome. Discuss - Essay Example Foreign or international aids play a very imperative role in the overall development of a country unless it gets utilized properly. International aid is mainly required in case of scarcity of economic resources or for any other natural restraint, when a country needs sufficient amount of foreign funds in the style of foreign aids to regain its position. Generally foreign or international aid is presented to reduce the deficit budgets, trade promotions along with strategic considerations. Other than this, Foreign or international aids are also offered in the form of economic, technical or military relief by one nation to another for the purpose of rehabilitation and support to make a real life difference. Not only this, foreign aids are also offered so as to present the opportunity to attain basic educational facilities to the poor children as well (Little & Clifford, 2005). Due to such reasons, it is highly admired by the individual all round the world. There are mainly two types of aids like emergency and developmental aids. Emergency aids are those presented by varied nations to offer relief to the individual ruined due to natural calamity such as fire, drought, flood, sudden break out of epidemic and breaking of large boulders and many others. Apart from this, aids are also offered in case of developmental purposes as well. When a developmental country is trying to become developed, then varied types of aids are also offered to help the suffering individual of those countries (Little & Clifford, 2005). These aids help in improving the condition and status of the individual in the developing countries and it is highly preferred by all of them. Discussion The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is one of the well-known international reliefs providing organization positioned in New York of USA. It was established in the year 1946 in the month of December. It is established in order to offer emergency relief and developmental support to the suffered families . It also works for the betterment of the poor and deprived families and mothers so as to improve their living conditions and economic standards. Therefore, these organizations are developed in order to improve and protect the families below poverty line and also to protect the rights of the small children as well. Almost 16 million individual became victimised due to the devastating drought that broke in Africa (UNICEF UK, n.d.). In 18th April, in the year 2000, a massive drought broke out in the eastern and southern parts of Africa in which numerous families and children became homeless and almost ruined (UNICEF UK, n.d.). At that time, in order to help those ruined families, UNICEF came forward. It offered varied types of reliefs such as money, clothes, food, medicines and safe drinking water facilities to those families and individual. Other than this, it also appealed for proper medicinal treatment for the children suffering varied types of trouble-some diseases (UNICEF UK, n.d .). Therefore, in order to treat these suffered individuals, UNICEF appealed for $1.7 million from both government and private donors. But they received only $ 500,000 to fulfil the basic needs like water, medicines, food, clothes and others. This helped in saving the lives of numerous suffered and diseased individual and children to

Leadership Application Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership Application Project - Essay Example Leadership By Example We have read or heard people who have etched their name in history books as a great leader of their time, whether in fame or notoriety. People like Moses in the Bible, Churchill and Hitler during the World War II or Obama and Bin Laden in the 21st century have captured the imagination of the world. They were leaders on their own right, whether chosen by their people or self proclaimed themselves. There are so many types of leadership: charismatic, participative, situational, transactional, transformational, quiet, and servant. What do these people have that they have so many followers? What are their traits? Do they have maxims they earnestly follow? For this project, we will try to look into the style of leadership which an individual can follow which will eventually make him/her a good leader. Firstly, let’s define what leadership is, according to Northouse (2007)â€Å"Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objecti ve and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent† (p. 3) in simple term, it is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal or objective. There is a notion that leaders are born rather than made. On the contrary, leaders are made through knowledge and skills which is called â€Å"Process Leadership† by Jago, 1982. Jago added that we have traits that can influence our actions which he termed as â€Å"Trait Leadership†. When we are task to lead people, we will be confronted on how to strategize them to follow what we have initially planned, in order to achieve our goal. In this case, we choose the leadership by example because study shows this is what the great leaders demonstrated in achieving their objectives. As Mahatma Gandhi once said â€Å"You must be the change you wish to see in the world.† It is not from another person that we rely for an answer to our problem, it should come from us. No matter our position or role maybe we can take the initiative and make the decision to show the way for others. I would like to cite a simple case in a family. The father, usually the breadwinner, who will take care of the basic needs of the family, that is, food, shelter and clothing. If the father remiss his duty-bound responsibilities because of his irresponsible attitude and unsound decisions, he will not gain support worse respect from his children and spouse. The father should be a role model to his children by leading by example. By showing that you care for their well-being and have an open communication, these two traits alone will work effectively in the family. How do we correlate this in an organization or a big corporation? In a setting where a leader plays a vital role to accomplish an organization’s objectives, he/she should have the traits, skills and knowledge necessary to perform his/her assigned task effectively. A classic example of a perso n balancing family and corporate affairs effectively is psychologist Lily Kelly-Radford, a vice-president of the prominent nonprofit Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). As quoted by Deborah Smith Bailey, Kelly-Radford says â€Å"if you’re good at what you do, take self-care measures and get creative about integrating your work and family life, you can be a successful leader and fulfill personal obligations† (Monitor Staff). She had an extensive experience in teaching and private consulting prior

The Influence of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Essay

The Influence of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen - Essay Example After the Mass, the Bishop that officiated the Mass, said to him that Sheen would go to Leuven University and that he would become a Bishop, just like he was. The Bishop’s prediction was right. As Sheen said and experiences, â€Å"God is constantly remolding that clay, giving it a second and third, and even seventy times seven chances.† Through his television programs, books, and preachings, Fulton Sheen was one of the most influential people during the second half of the 20th century. When Sheen got into television, he had to compete with the big stars of the 1950ss, such as Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra. He started his first television show, Life is Worth Living, in 1952. He based his talks on his book also called Life is Worth Living. Sheen had to fight for his airtime because most people wanted to watch the big stars, until Sheen came on air. Sheen’s show was very popular and he was doing better than the big television start. People would make an extra effort every Tuesday evening to watch him and take in his works. Sheen’s words got into people’s hearts and helped people strengthen their faith. He had millions of viewers and he drew as many as 10 million a week. Eventually he became more popular than everyone else on television. At the 1952 Emmy Awards, Sheen defeated Edward R. Murrow, Lucille Ball, and Arthur Godfrey for the title of Most Outstanding Television Personality. When he accepted his award, he said, â€Å"I wish to thank my four writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.†

Methodology Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Methodology - Dissertation Example I will use the gatekeeping theory from mass communication in this dissertation. The news, articles and editorials published during the period of February 14 till March 16, 2011 in the above two Saudi news papers will be searched out, read and analyzed to see how the Bahrain news was handled by the Saudi press. Thorough interviews will be conducted with the news handlers at each of the newspapers, with pertinent questions including the criteria for selecting the news, the sources from which they collect it, what kind of news they prefer to publish and whether or not the selection criteria have changed over the years.It will be important to establish whether outside influences, such as the government, alter the decision of whether or not to publish certain news items such as the Bahrain protest. These two newspapers will be compared against each other, making it easier to establish how appropriate the reported news is. All of the contents in the selected newspapers will be compared wit h those of the print media, electronic media or both. This process will help in checking the relevance of the news media in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, both of the newspapers’ operations will be investigated from the starting point to the finished product, as it is important to know exactly what happens to the raw data obtained by the news gatherers before it is finally published as a piece of information for readers. These observations will focus on each procedure undertaken in order to modify the news, from identifying the original source from which the news was obtained to how the news is presented to its readers. Finally, the factors that influence whether a piece of news is published or not must be highlighted. Working through this methodology will make it easier to see how the news is shaped in Saudi Arabia, and whether any fabrication exists. It will also provide insights into whether the news selection criteria has changed over the years, and if being a Muslim country changes the views of those responsible for selecting news and presenting it to readers. In addition, the problematic areas will be highlighted to enable the presentation of suitable and practical solutions. It will be important to identify the kinds of problems that can be addressed, and those that cannot be eradicated from the news selection procedure. In short, two research methodologies will be used in the study namely, interviews with the Saudi media journalists and the content analysis of the Saudi press that will include Alriyadh and Alyoum newspapers. Moreover, the theory of gatekeeping will be adopted as an analytical approach to study this process. 1.1. Interview Procedure Questions were developed in order to acquire a critical analysis, from the participants, of the coverage of the Bahrain events by the Saudi press. The questions were formulated with the objective to draw on the participants’ observation of the major Saudi institutions from politics, police, militar y and press. The important questions to be asked in the interview are provided below: 1. Please, rate the job done by the Saudi Press in covering the Bahraini events, particularly at the time of occurrence of the conflict? (Please select only one): (a) Excellent ---------( ) (b) Good ------------- ( ) (c) Fair --------------- ( ) (d) Not good ---------( ) 2. Please, justify your above selection: 3. Which media in Saudi

Seminar Play Analysis Essay Example for Free

Seminar Play Analysis Essay On November 20th I went to the Black Box theatre to see the play Seminar. It was a small production, and there were only five actors. Going into the play, I had no idea what to expect. I had heard the play was a bit raunchy, with explicit dialogue and provocative scenes. The play started out with four actors portraying college graduate writers. I loved how realistic the setting was; it really looked like somebody’s real apartment. The actors did very well portraying emotion, and every thing they did and said I could relate to. At one point, a girl was eating real ice cream and complaining on the couch to her friend. I thought it was funny how every girl could relate to that scene. I also liked that the actor had no problem devouring ice cream on top of memorizing her lines and acting at the same time. I would find it hard not to focus on anything other than the delicious taste of the ice cream. The play was indeed explicit and provocative. Being an 18 year old, I definitely had no problem with that! I think I can speak for all of the students who came out to watch the play. Something about how throwing in and â€Å"F bomb† can add so much more emotion and often times humor to a scene. I really enjoyed listening to them talk just like most young adults would. The playwright wasn’t holding back at all in the script, and I think that’s what made the play so captivating. The script was relatable and funny. There were some things that I didn’t like about the play. One of the characters portrayed a rebellious girl who wore dark clothes and heavy makeup. She was the one who was hooking up with the professor and her friend. She kept blinking her eyes too much and moving her head to try to look as if she was being seductive. I understand that in order to portray a seductive character some of those gestures would work well. I think the actor over did it, and I found it distracting to watch her keep doing the robotic gestures even when she wasn’t in the limelight. I really liked the set design and how they changed the scene to the professor’s apartment in a creative way. Since there are no curtains in the black box, it’s hard to be able to completely add new props and move furniture since everybody can see what you’re doing. The director did a great job deciding to turn off the lights, play music, and only have the colored lights on the white canvas in the back. The actors danced around and created a whole new set without the audience really knowing what was going on. When the lights turned back on, a whole new set was in place, and it accurately depicted a writing professor’s messy living room. I loved this set a lot, with paper scattered about, and a little Buddha on his desk to resemble something he had gotten on his many adventures to different countries that he was always bragging about. By being in this class, I’ve started to notice the small details like that in a play that I would have never noticed before. When the professor poured a drink of Jack Daniels, it looked so real that I actually questioned whether or not it was fake. I had to ask one of my friends in theatre if the actor was actually drinking alcohol or not, which they chuckled at, due to the fact that is very illegal. He then told me how actors have a whole lesson on making realistic props such as alcohol. They have all these combinations of non-alcoholic drinks that when put together look very real. The last thing I really liked about the play was how accurate the costumes were for the actors. The professor maintained a professional but casual look, that is, when he wasn’t walking around in his robe! I really liked Izzy’s costume too; it accurately depicted her character without going overboard.

Elements of Sustainable Business Models

Elements of Sustainable Business Models The title of the journal is Elements of Sustainable Business Models which was written by Talonen, Tapani, Hakkarainen and Kari for the research conducted by Kone Corporation and Virike Consulting, Finland. They had conducted a study about the elements contributing a beneficial business model. This research aimed to provide the detailed explanations regarding the complex aspects of business models and the actions or methods required to handle them. The study reveals the failures of some companies such as Kodak and Nokia to plan and implement the effective business models which causes their operations to face big problems and lose in the highly competitive business world. The investigation of the reasons of the failure in planning or implementing business models and the ways to overcome them is very important so that the current and future generation of the corporate leaders or managers can be aware of those issues and raise the possibility for them to implement successful business mod els. The technical product supremacy in the business world of nowadays is no longer enough. Customer experience became the most critical differentiator in the highly competitive business world. This incident made the business competition transforming rapidly from competition of various products to competition of business models. Innovation is playing an important role in business competition. It is not necessarily must be derived through an invention. The technological changes in the production of existing goods, the discovering of the new markets and supply sources, work tailorization and new organizational structure are various innovations that contribute technological advancement. Most of the efforts to replace the technologies will fail in innovation. Value is shifting from products to solutions to experiences nowadays. The products nowadays must meet an expectation or need in order to create great customer experiences. There is no any individual idea or factor that can ensure the win ning in the competition, it requires various elements such as enabling and supporting elements that combined together to create the winning edge. Business model is important because it decides how a company going to approach customers. Adjusting the approach based on the market conditions is not enough because the competitors can do the same thing too. A company needs a wider mindset to make itself extraordinary. A series of continual discussions need to be held between the business and technological experts to come out with a strategic plan which will then be further involves in the planning at tactical level and operational level. The key factor of tactical level is fast decision making in the forever changing business environment. A flexible business model is always better than those rigid funneling and long-span models. In order to enable the success of an innovation for the products, the company needs to ensure people to trust that it is not about something temporary only and the company will make a long term commitment to provide services or helps that might needed for those new products. Many companies would like to rely on their current products in the market rather than continue to make more innovations due to reluctance which is caused by mindset, misleading signals and the illusion of progress. Mindset is the biggest barrier among these three factors, it is often caused by the preoccupied thoughts or offensive satisfaction of a company’s leader about the company itself, behavior of avoiding losses and sunk cost dilemma where people tends to do something which is wrong or not worth it after spent so much on it. Besides that, all the company managers or leaders need to know clearly and accept that no matter how brilliant they had done in their plans and implementations of the business mo dels they might still have high possibility to fail at the end. They need to follow all the disciplines required but at the same time still remain agile and flexible to lower the possibility of failure. As long as they had done all the essential early preparations, failure would not become a disaster for their company. Strategic resilience is what a company needs in order to be successful where company will change according to the conditions of business ecosystem and competitions before it is too late. In order to be resilient, the company needs to get ready for cognitive, strategic, political and ideological challenges. The company leaders should also be aware that workers are still the crucial assets since the system do not do thinking. The title of the journal which is Elements of Sustainable Business Models is not really appropriate since the journal is all about both of the elements and complex barriers for sustainable business models. Our group feels that most of the information given in the journal is believable since the authors had supported it with so many real examples as strong evidences. The authors had made great efforts to help the readers to know and understand about more details regarding business models by inserting many figures and tables into the journal. However, we had found that the figure 2 inside the journal might leads to misunderstanding or confusing of the readers on the first sight because it did not been clearly labelled to show what is the meaning of the size or length of each arrow in the figure. The authors also had been using some words which are not commonly seen such as ‘tailorization’ and ‘tenet’ which might not be understood by many readers. There is a very interesting point inside the journal where the authors state that losses have much larger psychological effect than the same amount of gains on people. We feel that it is really interesting because many businessmen would not notice about that and lower down their fighting spirit when they won in a highly competitive business war. Inversely, if they had lost in a competition they would feel threatened and force themselves to work harder to boost their performance. Besides that, we are strongly agreed with the point of the sunk cost dilemma mentioned by the author inside the journal where people cannot abandon something that they had put so much effort into it. It revealed the real and commonly seen human nature of businessmen where they will normally make mistake by acting emotionally instead of rationally to terminate some projects that would not benefits the company since it had been long running halfway. However, we are disagreed with the statement where the authors says that those companies already facing problem are better off since they are forced to renew because it does not match with the statement of the authors saying that businessmen should be resilient to morph itself before it is forced by a performance crisis. We feel that the companies that only take action after started to face big problems normally would not be succeed because it would most probably always been too late to take any action at that time. There would be only very few companies that might lucky enough to succeed in reality especially in the highly competitive business world of today. As a conclusion, a business model that able to create extraordinary customer experiences is the main key element of winning in the cruel business war of today. Unluckily, every business model has a limited life span and also a surprisingly high risk to be failed in implementing it which somehow might still can be succeed with careful planning and correct timing. The journal can be considered as an excellent journal which might able to influence many readers with plenty of powerful explanations and evidences if all the weaknesses that had been pointed out by us can be modified correctly. The authors may change the title of the journal as ‘Elements and Barriers of Sustainable Business Models’ instead of the earlier one because it is more suitable with the major contents in the journal. On the other hand, the authors should also clearly label in the figure that the length of the each arrow in Figure 2 represents the correct timing of action or process that had been written under it so that the readers can easily understand the figure on the first sight. The authors should also replace those words in the journal which are not commonly seen by most of the readers with some simpler words. For an example, the authors can replace the word ‘tenet’ as ‘principle’ or ‘opinion’.