Marketing and Different Vendors Essay Example for Free

Marketing and Different Vendors Essay Having multi-vendor partnerships has its advantages and disadvantages. In the long run, supporting such a partnership would be difficult to maintain. Here are some of the concerns: * Change: Hardware and software requires constant upgrades to keep up with the technology changes. Changes in systems from multiple vendors can cause integration problems and requires a rigid process of testing and configuration. * Knowledge: IT staff must be well-trained in all the systems of the multi-vendor environment. Without a good IT support, the harder it is to find the source of the problem, and the longer it takes for them to resolve it. * Communication: In-house IT staff may have all the knowledge on the systems in the multi-vendor environment, but sometimes support from the vendors is required. In such cases, a support engineer is required to communicate with other support engineer, and it would be easier if it is done within the organization, but this is not usually the case. . Focusing IT on top line requires bringing in revenue for the company by increasing sales, whereas focusing IT on the bottom line requires bringing the cost down by reducing on operating cost. Focusing IT on the top line is more challenging because IT is not able to control who and when someone will actually buy the products and services. On the other hand, focusing IT on the bottom line can be predictable as there are sets of parameters within he organization that can be controlled, for example, reducing the number of employees. 3. Some ways for IT to bring in revenue is by increasing the number of customers and retaining customers. To increase the number of customers, IT systems such as online marketing tools can help to generate sales leads and increase customer awareness by sending out emails or direct mailers to potential customers. Such tools can help in segmenting customer profiles and evaluate the performance of the marketing campaign.

Don Pepe :: essays research papers fc

Like Castro, Gueverra, and Sandino, Jose Figueres Ferrer holds a place as one of the most important revolutionary and political forces in Latin American history. This so-called “father of modern Costa Rica'; led his country to revolution and eventual democracy. Known affectionately as “Don Pepe'; by his admirers, Figueres was both an enemy of communist and a thorn in the side of the United States. While putting down a communist regime and allying himself consistently with the U.S., Figueres was also a strong socialist and nationalist and would prove to be an enigma to U.S. policy makers during his terms as president. Despite the praise and admiration that Figueres enjoyed, a much darker side to his administration as well as an unmistakable duality in his dealings with the U.S. and democracy itself is seen in his political history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Following a time of democracy in Costa Rica, in the early 40’s, then president Rafael Calderon allied himself with the Costa Rican communist party, Vanguardia Popular as well as the Nicaraguan dictator Somoza. Figueres would then give a radio speech disdaining Calderon and his actions which would lead to Figueres’ exile to Mexico in 1942. (Cockcroft, 232) Figueres returned in 1944, and an alleged fixing of the 1948 Costa Rican election was the window that he had been waiting for. Supported by the governments of Guatemala, Cuba, and the U.S., Figueres and his Army of National Liberation would force the surrender of President Picado, a puppet of Calderon, and the Vanguardia forces, Figueres would seize control of Costa Rica as the head of the revolutionary junta for eighteen months. Control was then turned over to the rightful winner of the 1948 election, and Figueres would return for three terms as president, the first in 1953 and the final beginning in 1970. (Longley, 3)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During his interim term following the revolution and his subsequent terms as president, Figueres would institute a number of changes that would steamroll Costa Rican democracy. Don Pepe began by extending suffrage and full political rights to blacks and women, a certain democratic move. He then instituted a ten percent tax on the very wealthy, which had no considerable backlash politically in Costa Rica due to the surprisingly large middle class. Figueres also established a presidential term limit and created an independent Electoral Tribunal to oversee future elections. In perhaps his most amazing and debated decree, Figueres disbanded the government army, thus protecting himself from the possibility of an out of hand military. Don Pepe :: essays research papers fc Like Castro, Gueverra, and Sandino, Jose Figueres Ferrer holds a place as one of the most important revolutionary and political forces in Latin American history. This so-called “father of modern Costa Rica'; led his country to revolution and eventual democracy. Known affectionately as “Don Pepe'; by his admirers, Figueres was both an enemy of communist and a thorn in the side of the United States. While putting down a communist regime and allying himself consistently with the U.S., Figueres was also a strong socialist and nationalist and would prove to be an enigma to U.S. policy makers during his terms as president. Despite the praise and admiration that Figueres enjoyed, a much darker side to his administration as well as an unmistakable duality in his dealings with the U.S. and democracy itself is seen in his political history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Following a time of democracy in Costa Rica, in the early 40’s, then president Rafael Calderon allied himself with the Costa Rican communist party, Vanguardia Popular as well as the Nicaraguan dictator Somoza. Figueres would then give a radio speech disdaining Calderon and his actions which would lead to Figueres’ exile to Mexico in 1942. (Cockcroft, 232) Figueres returned in 1944, and an alleged fixing of the 1948 Costa Rican election was the window that he had been waiting for. Supported by the governments of Guatemala, Cuba, and the U.S., Figueres and his Army of National Liberation would force the surrender of President Picado, a puppet of Calderon, and the Vanguardia forces, Figueres would seize control of Costa Rica as the head of the revolutionary junta for eighteen months. Control was then turned over to the rightful winner of the 1948 election, and Figueres would return for three terms as president, the first in 1953 and the final beginning in 1970. (Longley, 3)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During his interim term following the revolution and his subsequent terms as president, Figueres would institute a number of changes that would steamroll Costa Rican democracy. Don Pepe began by extending suffrage and full political rights to blacks and women, a certain democratic move. He then instituted a ten percent tax on the very wealthy, which had no considerable backlash politically in Costa Rica due to the surprisingly large middle class. Figueres also established a presidential term limit and created an independent Electoral Tribunal to oversee future elections. In perhaps his most amazing and debated decree, Figueres disbanded the government army, thus protecting himself from the possibility of an out of hand military.

Emergency Management

How would you rate the four phases of Emergency Management for meeting the challenges confronting this nation from terrorism? The information the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 gives us on the activities following the attacks largely focuses on the response of resources. There seems to be an abundance of resources available to respond to each disaster area including emergency response teams, disaster mortuary teams, disaster medical assistant teams, urban search and rescue task forces, and incident support teams.Because of this, my thoughts are that in order to have such a response there had to be a certain level of preparedness. Therefore my top rated selection is the preparedness phase. Closely following is the response itself. For reasons previously stated the response phase is my second rated phase for this scenario. Multiple agencies from many different states responded with the appropriate resources within hours of the attacks. Thirdly, the recovery phase is m y next selection of importance.This phase is the measure of how well prepared and/or how quickly the response was including lives and property saved. The recovery phase directly leads into the mitigation phase as the last phase to be implemented. The mitigation phase allows for evaluation of the response and recovery taking into account for the entire operation as a whole. It can be utilized as a teaching tool of what went wrong or right and how to do it better next time. Learning from a disaster and how the event affected the area it encompassed is the primary goal of mitigation.Based on the information contained in the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 which of the following phases of emergency management were best fulfilled? Please place the four phases in order of which phases was best planned/implemented with the best implemented phase ranked first. Please justify your response. After reading the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 I would place the following phases in order of best planned and implemented with the best-implemented phase listed first. * The response phase * The preparedness phase * The recovery phase The mitigation phase Overall, response was overwhelming. Multiple agencies from all over the U. S. responded to the disaster. These ranged from mortuary response teams to disaster medical response teams as well as urban search and rescue task forces. The response was excellent. Because no one prior to the September 11, 2001 could foresee the attacks, planning for such an event could not have been accomplished. Due to the fact that the U. S. had planned for other natural disasters in other parts of the country I believe that the preparedness for the attacks was next best met.Being prepared for other disasters that cause mass destruction and loss of life we were able to respond quickly and efficiently. Recovery was slow due to the magnitude of the attacks. Four separate events within hours of each other heavily taske d our resources and made for a long recovery process. Debris recovery was primarily lead by the U. S. Army Core of Engineers. However, psychological recovery has taken and probably will take many more years. Economic recovery has also been slow. As for mitigation, the damage had already been done.There was no way to know what was going to happen and therefore contingencies to lesson the effects could not be made. Mitigation in this regard comes into play with agencies like the Red Cross providing blood products for the injured, shelter for the disaster workers, and fund raising. As with all major disasters or accidents we learn each time we fall victim to them. Future events such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, now that we have experienced such an event, can be better prepared for. In this way we will have better response, more effective mitigation, and a quicker recovery process.In retrospect and in YOUR opinion (Hindsight is always 20/20),   if any singular aspect of planning and implementation for such a disaster could have possibly prevented 9-11 what could it have been? No, I do not think that 9-11 could have been prevented. WE have learned valuable lessons from that tragic attack, but it the terrorist took advantage of our security, and process of how we conduct our affairs. Now that we know what we know, we have changed our processes, and we continue to alter them. We have tightend our security.Our Intelligence forces now are able to put threats and information together that prior to 9-11 we wouldn’t have considered. What are some of the distinguishing features between a natural disaster and a man-made disaster such a 9-11? A natural disaster is an effect of nature such as a volcanic eruption, earthquake, or hurricane. These cannot be prevented but can be prepared for. A man-made disaster is a catastrophe or tragedy caused by humans. Such as bombings, the 9-11 attack, arson. These can be prevented.If a terrorist attack or another significant disaster were to hit the United States today that is similar to that which occurred on 9-11 or Hurricane Katrina were to occur today, which of the four phases of emergency management do you believe we would respond to significantly better today. Please justify your response. As with all major disasters or accidents we learn each time we fall victim to them. Future events such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, now that we have experienced such an event, can be better prepared for. In this way we will have better response, more effective mitigation, and a quicker recovery process. Emergency Management How would you rate the four phases of Emergency Management for meeting the challenges confronting this nation from terrorism? The information the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 gives us on the activities following the attacks largely focuses on the response of resources. There seems to be an abundance of resources available to respond to each disaster area including emergency response teams, disaster mortuary teams, disaster medical assistant teams, urban search and rescue task forces, and incident support teams.Because of this, my thoughts are that in order to have such a response there had to be a certain level of preparedness. Therefore my top rated selection is the preparedness phase. Closely following is the response itself. For reasons previously stated the response phase is my second rated phase for this scenario. Multiple agencies from many different states responded with the appropriate resources within hours of the attacks. Thirdly, the recovery phase is m y next selection of importance.This phase is the measure of how well prepared and/or how quickly the response was including lives and property saved. The recovery phase directly leads into the mitigation phase as the last phase to be implemented. The mitigation phase allows for evaluation of the response and recovery taking into account for the entire operation as a whole. It can be utilized as a teaching tool of what went wrong or right and how to do it better next time. Learning from a disaster and how the event affected the area it encompassed is the primary goal of mitigation.Based on the information contained in the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 which of the following phases of emergency management were best fulfilled? Please place the four phases in order of which phases was best planned/implemented with the best implemented phase ranked first. Please justify your response. After reading the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 I would place the following phases in order of best planned and implemented with the best-implemented phase listed first. * The response phase * The preparedness phase * The recovery phase The mitigation phase Overall, response was overwhelming. Multiple agencies from all over the U. S. responded to the disaster. These ranged from mortuary response teams to disaster medical response teams as well as urban search and rescue task forces. The response was excellent. Because no one prior to the September 11, 2001 could foresee the attacks, planning for such an event could not have been accomplished. Due to the fact that the U. S. had planned for other natural disasters in other parts of the country I believe that the preparedness for the attacks was next best met.Being prepared for other disasters that cause mass destruction and loss of life we were able to respond quickly and efficiently. Recovery was slow due to the magnitude of the attacks. Four separate events within hours of each other heavily taske d our resources and made for a long recovery process. Debris recovery was primarily lead by the U. S. Army Core of Engineers. However, psychological recovery has taken and probably will take many more years. Economic recovery has also been slow. As for mitigation, the damage had already been done.There was no way to know what was going to happen and therefore contingencies to lesson the effects could not be made. Mitigation in this regard comes into play with agencies like the Red Cross providing blood products for the injured, shelter for the disaster workers, and fund raising. As with all major disasters or accidents we learn each time we fall victim to them. Future events such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, now that we have experienced such an event, can be better prepared for. In this way we will have better response, more effective mitigation, and a quicker recovery process.In retrospect and in YOUR opinion (Hindsight is always 20/20),   if any singular aspect of planning and implementation for such a disaster could have possibly prevented 9-11 what could it have been? No, I do not think that 9-11 could have been prevented. WE have learned valuable lessons from that tragic attack, but it the terrorist took advantage of our security, and process of how we conduct our affairs. Now that we know what we know, we have changed our processes, and we continue to alter them. We have tightend our security.Our Intelligence forces now are able to put threats and information together that prior to 9-11 we wouldn’t have considered. What are some of the distinguishing features between a natural disaster and a man-made disaster such a 9-11? A natural disaster is an effect of nature such as a volcanic eruption, earthquake, or hurricane. These cannot be prevented but can be prepared for. A man-made disaster is a catastrophe or tragedy caused by humans. Such as bombings, the 9-11 attack, arson. These can be prevented.If a terrorist attack or another significant disaster were to hit the United States today that is similar to that which occurred on 9-11 or Hurricane Katrina were to occur today, which of the four phases of emergency management do you believe we would respond to significantly better today. Please justify your response. As with all major disasters or accidents we learn each time we fall victim to them. Future events such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, now that we have experienced such an event, can be better prepared for. In this way we will have better response, more effective mitigation, and a quicker recovery process.

Inspirational Leader

1. 0 Introduction The Book that I had selected on business is â€Å"The Inspirational Leader† which written by John P G Tan. John P G Tan is one of the country’s highly sought after leadership trainer and speaker. The purpose of this book is to help bring about better management and leadership amongst the people of the country. His belief is that we can become leaders who can make the difference. John P G Tan trains for companies large and small and his training sessions have been consistently rated as excellent, exciting and enriching.He runs his own training company, Professional Skills Trainers Sdn Bhd, and has developed â€Å"The Inspirational Leader† program, a program which made a difference to countless people. Besides that this book is to give us the skills that we need to turn from a scratcher to a soarer. (John (2002) said) This book will also point us in the direction of the areas that we will need further development on. We can become inspiring leader s, but we must know the skills and the reason for being inspirational rather than remaining mediocre of this great transformation process. John (2002) said) So it is with leadership. There are those who think that they are leaders when in reality the only thing that they are leading is themselves into delusion about their leadership abilities. On the other hand, there are those who lead their team to greater heights, whose goal in life is to add value to those for whom they are responsible. There are the ones who inspire us to go on. (John (2002) said) This book will help is discover just how to become an inspiring leader.The book gives us, step-by-step, and in a very down-to-earth manner, the skills that we will need to, for examples, get your leadership paradigms right, overcome negative mindsets of leadership, think out of the box, acquire the essential skills that you will need to become an effective, inspiring leader. 2. 0 Climbing Up the Inspirational Leadership Rungs To becom e an effective leader, one has to climb the Five steps of Leadership. John believe that there are perhaps 6 Levels to the question of leadership. He call this the 6 Rungs of Inspirational Leadership. John (2002) said)The reason is because RUNGS denote that we have some climbing to do, that effort is needed if we want to proceed and that the effort will require us feet as well as our hands. The journey is not an easy one but rewarding one nonetheless. The first Rung is that of YEARNING. At this level, we are not even a leader yet. We just eyeing the horizon, thinking about all the wonderful things that we would do if we were a leader. John’s experience is that most of the people here are around the 25-28 years of age bracket, educated and who have a desire to go forward.For some, the way forward seems to be well prepared, but for most of us the way ahead can seem rather hazy. But we have that desire to progress and to that end our arm ourselves with the necessary qualification s and training to get to that next level. (John (2002) said) The second rung is that of BEING, being the manager or leader, that is, we get here by being technically competent. At this point people follow you because, quite frankly, they just don’t have a choice. You are their boss and whether they like it or not, they are going to have to take orders from you.Not the prettiest of situations to be in, but a situation relished by some people nonetheless. But before you go off and think that this rung is therefore obsolete, think against. It is a position that you must have. But you must not stay put here. You must have the desire to keep on keeping on. (John (2002) said) The third rung is the rung of BEFRIENDING. Here, your subordinated actually quite enjoy being with you and will actually do things for you because they want to rather than feel that they have to.At this level, to get people to turn towards loving you, you would have to practice a fair amount of human relations skills, as well as communication skills. The problem is that most of us progress upwards on technical competence. (John (2002) said) Rung four is the rung of PRODUCING. This is when people admire you because they see that your leadership brings about results. They come to you with a problem and you help them solve the problem, not refer them to some other department. They come to you with a crisis and you develop opportunities out of that crisis.The level four person is one adroit in the skills of problem solving, creative thinking and communication. (John (2002) said) The fifth rung had to do with what you have done with your subordinates. The other levels were generally about you but a level five, the rung of REPLICATION, you are more concerned about your people’s development. At this level, the leader’s concern is about helping his people develop to their fullest potential. (John (2002) said) The last level, level 6 is about INSPIRING. Here, the people are loyal to you because you are loyal to them. Here, they are true followers because they see in you a true leader.They are willing to walk two miles when you asked for an extra one because they saw the same trait in you. At this level, you are an inspiration to the people around you. (John (2002) said) 3. 0 The 3 Essential Skills A guy called Robert L Katz did some research and found that we all needed three essential skills. He called these skills technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills. (John (2002) said) Technical skills are essentially knowledge skills, the type of skills you acquire when you go to college and university for your studies. At the lower level management, technical skills are of great importance.This simply means that if you are to begin progressing, you will need to be technically competent. (John (2002) said) Human skills are the skills required to work with human beings and since almost all work is centered around other human beings, we will be in great need of these skills. Executives in all levels of management require this skill be it lower, middle or top level management. People who have this skill are able to get the best out of their people towards greater heights of achievement and self-development. All of us believe that we are pretty good at handling people.But the truth is that for most part there are more people who practice bad human relations skills than those who practice good ones. (John (2002) said) The third skill is that of conceptual skills, the ability to think and conceptualize, visualize and then help make things materialize as a result of the ability to look ahead. This skill becomes more and more important as you climb higher up to the 6-R. As you get to the level of Producing, you are going to need lots of this skill. Conceptual skill is like that, that is if we have it, and use it. We create value for others be they our internal customers or our external ones.Conceptual skills help us to surpass the competition , position and reposition products and services so that we create value for those we serve. This in turns brings in a level of loyalty that we would not have otherwise achieved. (John (2002) said) 4. 0 Stop That Bad Trickle Down The problem with management and leadership is that they suffer from what is sometimes called the trickle down effect. What is the trickle down effect? Simply this. We get into the job market. We report to a boss who is less than inspiring. These not quite so professional bosses push down lousy management practices and principles on us.By virtue of the fact that we are at the bottom of the totem people, we dare not challenge any of these bad bosses. The day arrives and we become bosses. Now is the time to let out some of our pent-up feelings. So we push down all the things that we didn’t like pushed at us to those below us. We trickle down bad management and leadership practices. The guys below us wait till it’s their turn to do more of the same . Well, it’s about time this is stopped. And it can stop with you. (John (2002) said) Take a little time off and ask yourself what are the good things that you have learned from your previous bosses.List these things down. Basically, listing down the good things that you have seen in your bosses. Make sure that you trickle these down to your subordinates. Then ask yourself what are the not so nice things that you have had to lap up from those above you. List them and make sure that you do not perpetuate these practices. 5. 0 Treat People As People Let’s start with this major area of self-development- if you want to turn hate to love, for example, the area of Human Skills. One of the problems that we face today is that people don’t really care for one another. We are only nice to others when we need them to do something for us.At other times, we are nice to them because we might need them to do something for us in the future. The rest of the time, we just canâ₠¬â„¢t seem to be bothered. We have lost the sense of looking at people as people. We often mouth words like â€Å"people are our biggest assets† and then we go and treat them otherwise. Insincerity is rife in management today. We tend to look at people only as things to help us achieve our objectives. In many situations we call up others not to find out how they are, but to see if we could somehow solicit their help to achieve some goals that we have. (John (2002) said) Treat people as people.If you like being treated as a thing, useable to others only when they need you, then do the same. Don’t bother to inquire after health and well being of your subordinates. Only call on them when you need things done. And when you don’t need them, cast them away. (John (2002) said) If you do that, then please remember, that’s what they will do to you too. Take a good look at yourself today and very sincerely ask yourself the following questions. Please be brutally si ncere and honest with yourself. Am I a user? Do i really look after cares and concerns of my subordinates or do I just tend to look after my own cares and concerns?Do I ooze charm only when I need the other person’s help? Or am I really concerned about the developmental welfare of my people? 6. 0 Watch The Words It is easier said than done. Criticizing, condemning and complaining are about the easiest things to do, almost second nature to most of us. A simple example will illustrate this point. (John (2002) said) When you are out driving your car and someone overtakes you rather recklessly what is your normal reaction? I would bet that the tough â€Å"crazy driver† would have gone through your mind more than once. Looks like we are about the only ones driving at the right speeds on the roads.We have the habits, and it’s a bad habit, of looking at things, seeing the worst in them and then condemning the person or persons involved. (John (2002) said) Well it was s imply this, that negative words can really kill a person’s initiative. And when we have done that, it can take ages to try and win that person’s confidence back against. Watch your words. Take a good look over your vocal thesaurus and see what kind of words, phrases and jargon you use. Learn to reduce the usage of words that criticize, condemn and complain. (John (2002) said) Remember, if you are a manager, your words hold weight. So what has this got to do with black dot?Just this, address the black dots when you see them. But address them with words that build and develop, not words that destroy and demotivate. 7. 0 The Other Guy’s Got Right Too We are still looking at the rung of Befriending at rung three where you are trying to change the attitudes and mindset of the people whom you manage from one of â€Å"have to† to â€Å"want to†. This if you remember, is a prerequisite of changing from hate to love. (John (2002) said) At this point it migh t be a good idea to take a look at this principle, the principle that the other guy does have rights, the same kinds of rights that you have.Perhaps a good place to start would be to look at what some of these rights are. People have the right to be respected and to be treated in a respectful manner. It matters not what his or her station in life is, the point is simple. If that person is a human being, then he or she deserves to be treated with some level of respect. (John (2002) said) The trouble is that most of us equate respect for the other person with his or her socio-economic status. Thus a doctor gets greater amount of respect than say a perhaps a construction worker.The guy who comes around to sell lottery tickets, well, he is a nuisance anyway, disturbing our peace as we have dinner and so does not deserve that much respect. (John (2002) said) We do not actually list down who gets more respect, but we judge and we act accordingly very quickly. I believe that people have th e right to disagree with us. Just try and remember this one, the other guy’s got rights too. 8. 0 The Wisdom Of The Open Mouth Well, the open mouth is basically about how we speak with people, what we do with our mouths. It’s about positive communication skills and therein lies the important words – positive.There are many people who relay nothing but negatives when they open their mouth. Their talk is all about the bad side of people, situations, whatever. Would that they refrain from opening their mouths and fouling up the air. (John (2002) said) Yet there are others who, despite their problems, maintain a positive front and convey nothing but goodness from their mouths. But the Wisdom of the Open Mouth is not about not saying negative things. It’s about saying positive things, saying things in such as way as to edify, to build up the other person, to add value to what is being said and whom it is being said to.At this point it may be good to remind our selves that the wisdom of the open mouth lies not only in the mouth but in the heart and in the mind. The Wise Mouth knows that the brain and the heart must be engaged before words are spewed forth. (John (2002) said) The Wise Mouth thinks before speaking. The Wise Mouth has decided that the words that come from it will build human relation bridges rather than barriers. The Wise Mouth has decided that it will encourage rather than discourage, edify rather than vilify, mold rather than scold. John (2002) said) The Wise Mouth will seek out ways to say things in a positive, caring manner and in so doing add value to those around him or her.The Wise Mouth will not allow foul words to contaminate it. Foul words do nothing but offer an illusion of comfort. Give yourself an oral check-up. Are you generally spreading the good news or the bad news? God knows that there is enough bad news in the world today – take a peek at your daily newspaper and you will get the drift. Kind words ar e often hard to come by, but when they do come by, they add such a dimension of real warmth and comfort to one’s soul. John (2002) said) 9. 0 TeamWork Truth be told, this word â€Å"TeamWork† or Teambuilding is overused and under-understood. Most of us think that teamwork is just about a bunch of people, wearing the same T-shirts, working together. But is that all there is to teamwork? Not by a mile it isn’t. (John (2002) said) The role of inspirational leader’s role in a team is to lead the team to higher grounds, setting down greater and greater challenges. Every team, in order to do well, must plan ahead. But planning ahead is not just about anticipating what actions the team will have to do first next and so on.Planning requires us to also look at what we would like to be or like to achieve at the end of the activity period. (John (2002) said) It is easy to evaluate our team members on quantitative results but such results are not the be-all and end-a ll of team efforts. Perhaps leaders ought to be looking at things like value-inculcation of their team members as well. Inspirational Leaders do one thing much better than uninspiring ones – they encourage their people to talk, to participate, to give feedback – whether positive or negative feedback. John (2002) said) Inspirational leaders also tend to inspire their teams by allowing greater levels of participation in team activities and in team decision making. It is the leader’s duty to bring the best out of his or her people. Look at them and spot their strengths and then strengthen them even further. By sending them for further training and then allowing them to practice what they have learned during those training sessions. By writing up a three – year development plan for these folks. By not waiting for them to ask you to develop them, but to do so proactively. John (2002) said) Then you need to look at their faults and remedy them immediately.Never allows a subordinate’s faults to become a habit for habits are hard to break. 10. 0 Motivating There are two kinds of motivation – one that is centered around motivating yourself and another that is centered around motivating others. At this juncture, I want to only address the one which is centered around motivating others. (John (2002) said) The first principle of motivating others I believe has to do with our own perception of people. This one is really quite self-evident; you treat people nice, they tend to treat you nice. John (2002) said) You treat them bad and you can bet your boots that they will treat you rotten. Somehow, unfortunately, most of us just don’t quite seem to get this into our heads. The second principle of motivating others has to do with giving them the recognition that they deserve for the work well done. A third principle in motivation is simply this – your integrity level. Say what you mean and mean what you say.Always keep to your word. As an inspirational manager your word and your integrity is more important than your signature. John (2002) said) Nothing destroys the confidence that your people have in you than a lack of integrity. Principle number four has to do with involving people. Getting your people involved in the work that you are doing, getting them involved in the decision making process, communicating with them your intentions and asking for their feedback tend to result in better all-round performance and productivity. (John (2002) said) Principle number five has to do with rewards. Make sure that you reward your people for work done. The problem is that too many of us take the easy way out when rewarding our people.We bribe them with money, and only money. Think about how to reward people in different ways. (John (2002) said) 11. 0 The Inspirational Leader At Work The inspirational leader is one who keeps on keeping on; who keeps on reading and learning more and more about the business, th e science and the art of leading, managing and inspiring his or her people. (John (2002) said) Most of us start the journey at a point, when we were formally appointed into some sort of managerial or leadership role. At that point in time, most of us only had our technical expertise to fall back on. John (2002) said)We had little by way of awareness of the skills required to become better leaders. We were at the stage of Unconscious Incompetence. What this means is that we did not know that we lacked the skills of becoming a good leader. (John (2002) said) Then people complain about us or higher ups recognize our lack of ability and they point these shortcomings to us. At this point we move from Unconscious Incompetence to the stage of Conscious Incompetence. (John (2002) said) We now know that we don’t know. A big help this is – but it is nonetheless a good start.We then embark on training programs and so on to enhance our leadership skills. (John (2002) said) We lear n new things to practice. Some of the things in this book might be new to some of you – but to others, they might not. Whatever it is, you learn and begin to practice. You are now in the stage of Conscious Competence. (John (2002) said) What this means is that you have now decided to put into practical application what you have actually learned. Here’s something for those if you who have learned but refuse to translate that learning into practical application – you are still at Conscious Incompetence.Progress is slow and sometimes mistakes are made. But that is really quite acceptable. This is the stage of Conscious Competence. (John (2002) said) You are able to do what is required of you – but you have to think through it before you can practicalize it. The last stage is that of Unconscious Competence. At this stage, you are able to unconsciously put into practice all the various principles that you have learned. All the stuff that has been written in th e preceding chapters is no longer a problem for you. Because you have been practicing them, you have been incrementally improving on them. John (2002) said) 12. 0 Conclusion For as long as we retain our humanness, all of us are going to make mistakes. But then mistakes are simply opportunities to improve.The inspirational leader knows how to take corrective steps when he or she makes mistakes – including apologizing for their mistakes. Then he or she picks up the pieces and gets on with it. As the leader keeps improving, he or she gets to level 6 of the 6-Rungs of Leadership. Here, he or she knows how to delegate, motivate, communication, reward inspire and lead his or her people through the synergistic practice if all the skills acquired.Please don’t think that all there is to being inspirational is in this book. There are just so much more to know, to understand, to practice. The inspirational leader is a true professional who understands the needs to continue improv ing. He picks up extra skills, skills on assertiveness, strategic thinking and a whole range of other career-enhancing skills that will make him an asset to his company, his bosses, his peers and his subordinates. Some final words, is the journey worth it? Those who have travelled that road with me all agree that it is. Those who have travelled that road as my subordinates believe that it is.

Greek art essays

Greek art essays Ancient Greece 950 BCE was a culture that took great pride in perfection, excellence and overall greatness. The people werent what todays society would consider modern, but of their time they were. The Greeks essentially molded the creative world with their intelligence in art, architecture, and astronomy for many cultures to come. The Romans who basically claimed the Greeks developments as their own destroyed many of their ideas and art forms. Even though so much of the Greeks culture has been destroyed, much of it still remains within society today. So many aspects of modern day life have been in some way, influenced by the Greeks. The Greeks were a culture that strived for perfection, and harmony. They were fascinated with the human form, and this is revealed in most of their artwork. The Greeks were the first to glamorize the perfection of the human body during the Archaic period. Using balance and proportion the Greeks sculpted what they considered to be the perfect male and female forms. They called the male the Kouros. He was considered to represent Apollo (a Greek G-d) or the perfect male athlete. The Kouros was always depicted nude in a contrapposto position, meaning one foot in front of the other, and facing forward. He had braided hair, no eyeballs, (Greeks believed that the eyes were the windows to the soul) (-) and an archaic smile. The female figure was called the Kore; she was a freestanding fully clothed figure, usually depicted draped in jewlery. The Kore was much more youthful looking than the Kouros. She also had no eyeballs and the infamous archaic smile. These two forms of Greek sculpture along with others can be related to our society today. The Kouros and Kore served as antique models. What the Greeks considered to be ideal body types have influenced our own views. Men should be muscular and strong, and women youthful and well dressed. T ...

Herbert Spencer Quotations on Education

Herbert Spencer Quotations on Education Herbert Spencer  was an English philosopher, prolific writer, and advocate of education, science over religion, and evolution. He wrote four essays on education and is known for espousing that science is the knowledge of greatest worth. He is also known for the following famous quotations: â€Å"Mother, when your children are irritable, do not make them more so by scolding and fault-finding, but correct their irritability by good nature and mirthfulness. Irritability comes from errors in food, bad air, too little sleep, a necessity for change of scene and surroundings; from confinement in close rooms, and lack of sunshine.† â€Å"The great aim of education is not knowledge, but action.† â€Å"For discipline, as well as for guidance, science is of chiefest value. In all its effects, learning the meaning of things is better than learning the meaning of words.† â€Å"Those who have never entered upon scientific pursuits know not a tithe of the poetry by which they are surrounded.† â€Å"Education has for its object the formation of character.† â€Å"Science is organized knowledge.† â€Å"People are beginning to see that the first requisite to success in life is to be a good animal.† â€Å"In science the important thing is to modify and change ones ideas as science advances.† â€Å"The behavior of men to the lower animals, and their behavior to each other, bear a constant relationship.† â€Å"It cannot but happen†¦that those will survive whose functions happen to be most nearly in equilibrium with the modified aggregate of external forces†¦This survival of the fittest implies multiplication of the fittest.† â€Å"Progress, therefore, is not an accident, but a necessity†¦It is a part of nature.† â€Å"The survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called natural selection, or the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life. â€Å"When a mans knowledge is not in order, the more of it he has, the greater will be his confusion.† â€Å"Never educate a child to be a gentleman or lady alone, but to be a man, a woman.† â€Å"How often misused words generate misleading thoughts.† â€Å"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools.† â€Å"Every cause produces more than one effect.† â€Å"Government is essentially immoral.† â€Å"Life is the continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations.† â€Å"Music must take rank as the highest of the fine arts - as the one which, more than any other, ministers to the human spirit.† â€Å"No one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; no one can be perfectly happy till all are happy. â€Å"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation.† â€Å"Much dearer be the things which come through hard distress.† â€Å"We too often forget that not only is there a soul of goodness in things evil, but very generally a soul of truth in things erroneous.† â€Å"Our lives are universally shortened by our ignorance.† â€Å"Be bold, be bold, and everywhere be bold.†

Managerial Economics - Oligopoly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managerial Economics - Oligopoly - Essay Example This act of Holland Sweetener amounted to an attempt to dilute the monopoly and convert the US market into an oligopoly comprised of two major suppliers of Aspartame. In order to do this the major issue presented in the case study is that of pricing. Strategic pricing in order to win the major buyers so as to capture market share and maximize profits. Given the usual assumptions of an identical product, identical costs and the Bertrand variety of oligopoly in which the both Monsanto and Holland Sweetener simultaneously decide to quote the price either as high or low to Coke and Pepsi. Due to interdependence of the two sellers it becomes very important for each firm to decide strategically whether to quote a low or a high price. In Bertrand oligopoly strategy reduces to simultaneously setting prices in the hope that the competition does not change its set price. Such conflicting or non cooperating pricing strategies are increasingly being dealt with the constructs in Game Theory which not only introduced the idea that conflict could be mathematically analyzed but also provided the terminology with which to do it. Rasmussen (2001) traces the beginning of the theoretical development in field by quoting the relevant literature and by stating that the evolution of the arguments around the "Prisoner's Dilemma" construct (as in Tucker) and thereafter Nash's papers on the definition and existence of equilibrium further developed the field of the modern non-cooperative game theory. However important and simultaneous developments were taking place in cooperative game theory through the important contributions of Nash and Shapley on bargaining games and Gillies and Shapley on the core theory utilized in study of cartels. These developments are traced in several books on economics and Game Theory. (Thus if each firm acts independently, the result is a Nash equilibrium. Part of the definition of Nash equilibrium is that each player takes what the other players are doing as given when deciding what he should do; he holds their behavior constant and adjusts his to maximize his gains. But if one firm increases its output, the other firms must adjust whether they choose to or not. If they continue to charge the same price, they will find that they are selling less; if they continue to produce the same amount, the price they can sell it for will fall. The pay-off matrix from the case study can be given as in Table 1 below: Table 1: Pay-off Matrix of Monsanto and Holland Sweetener In this table Monsanto is represented as Player 1 and Holland Sweetener as the player 2.As per the assumptions the payoff have been categorized in various cells of the matrix. Player 1- Monsanto (Figures in $ Millions) Player 2- Holland SweetenerAn examination of the Table 1 reveals that following an independent strategy of pricing high Monsanto is likely to gain $300 million if Holland also priced high.However, its payoffs would plummet to $0 millions if