Managing and developing people Essay

Executive Summary: Procter and Gamble (P&G) is a business idea developed by William Procter and James Gamble. The company was established in the year 1837. Initially the company, engaged in making candles and soaps. However, later the company started producing consumer goods such as beauty care, health care, baby products, food and beverages etc. The company suffered with several organizational and cultural issues between 1999 and 2000. The case study on P&G, suggests that the period of 1999 and 2000 has been headed by two different CEOs i.e. Durk Jager and Alan Lafley. Both of them managed the company in their own style and presented a good example of leadership skills. Therefore, the aim objective of this report is to highlight the challenges faced by P&G. The organizational challenges under this report will be evaluated on the basis of strategic development, HR practices and leadership styles under the two different CEOs. Although, each of the CEOs had there own individual personality, management st yle, leadership style and functioning but both of them evidently contributed towards the success of P&G. Additionally, strategic recommendations will be provided in the form of 5 year strategic plan which will be helpful in improving the HR performance, organizational culture and the overall financial performance of the organization. Introduction: This report is solely positioned on the assessment of the organizational issues. These issues are present in Procter and Gamble under the leadership of two different individuals, Durk Jager who headed the organization in July 1999 and under the regime of Alan Lafley who ruled in June 2000. Both the styles of leadership and actions taken will be critically evaluated with reference to strategic development, leadership skills and HR practices. During mid- late 1990s, Durk Jager launched the organizational restructuring exercise, which included refurbishment of P&G’s organizational culture, retrenchment of employees along with reduction in hierarchies. Strategic development basically involves the changes and plans that were initiated within the organization by each of the leaders separately.  Further, this report will be evaluating the consequences of these changes on the performance of the company. Secondly, Leadership styles will be explained on the basis of leading methods of both the CEOs and these methods will be analyzed using the transactional and transformational theories of leadership. Additionally, this report will analyze how employees overall performs due to different leadership styles. Thirdly, HR operations will determine the practices and rules that supervise personnel management, organizational behavior and employee relations. However, all these activities will be seen under both leader’s authority. Finally, this report will demonstrate behavioral aspects of employees and their individual needs. In the last, the report will consist of strategic recommendations in regards to all the issues described. This wi ll be carried out through a SWOT analysis on the existing HR rules and policies. Moreover, the plan in the report will address both best-fit and best practice concepts. Strategic Development: Durk Jager Vs Lafley: It may be defined as strategy that is adopted by the business to grow its business (CIPD 2012). However, Durk Jager at his time of presidency introduced various changes. He used Information Technology (IT) as catalyst for change, his vision was to influence innovative approach. According to Jager, the only way to increase the growth, sale , volume and earning is to remain constant throughout. Along with these changes, reorganization of company’s corporate structure was done; P&G increased its business unit from four to five under Jager’s supervision. Jager believed that his step would help to speed up decision-making power within the organization and additionally it helps in eradicating bureaucracy (Bryson 1988). The strategic development has various benefits such as it helps organization to think strategically, helps in clarifying future directions clearly, improves performance of both employees and organizations and most importantly it effectively deals with the speed ily changing conditions. However, Jager did not predicted hassle this brought to the employees of the organization by increasing the gap in the communication. For example line manager of one country is liable to report to the line manager in another country. Moreover, employees did not seem to be happy about the acquired changes  (Bradutan and Sarbu nd). Employee of the P&G were not satisfied and suggested that the system have a loophole. The culture of the organization went through many other changes like they discarded old dressing code, the employees were given opportunity to decide their own dress. While some of the things changed for bad, the others were good too. For instance, due to new changes all employees were treated equally by serving coffee in the same cups. Hence, after these changes the organization is aligned on common goals, high level of team collaboration, leaders were able to take up more challenging tasks. Therefore as a result of implemented change, Jager’s measures to change were not successful. The changes faced several problems, consequently the net profit declined to 18%. Whereas, again in the history of P&G another president named Lafley made various efforts to improve the declining conditions of the organization. He made the initial change by transferring 15 seniors most officers and gave all the high level of job roles to women. According to him this effort will help in promoting competition in the top-level hierarchies amongst the organization (Reid, Flin and Mearns 2008). Furthermore, Herzberg’s two-factor model also suggest that nature of work, recognition, job satisfaction level also helps in increasing motivation of the employees. Therefore, Lafley suggested that people on the top level management tends to be motivated by the suggested factors by Herzberg (Hyun 2009). Just like Jager, Lafley too emphasized on IT however, his action plan was mainly focused on customers. This is however a good point because it adds on a competitive advantage other competitors. While Jager practiced inflexible, inward and constant approach. On the opposite hand, Lafley wanted P&G to more open to challenges, flexible and outwardly. Leadership : Durk Jager Vs Lafley : The two leaders Jager and Lafley both demonstrated two different kinds of leadership skills namely, transformational leaders and transactional leaders. However, both depict different personality; the transactional leader addresses the worldly necessity of the employee whereas, the transformational leader focuses on the individual-concept of the employee and the employee’s consciousness of self-worth. The transformational leader  motivates the follower to habitus a self-concept that identifies with the leader’s self-idea and mission. To endeavor for consistency, the follower is motivated to apply extra effort to match the follower’s personal self-concept and operation with the leader and thereby increases his or her own sense of self-quality as a result. In 1978 Burnes, explained that transformational leadership represents a leadership style that is signified by shared vision and charisma between followers and the leaders. The potential of transformational leade rs comes from their power to impact and animate others to originate exceptional piece of work. In comparison, transactional leadership explains more of a â€Å"give and take†on the job relationship – close relationship between leader and follower is constituted through transaction, such as a remuneration system for achieving any particular target or goal (Lai 2011). According to this case study, Jager tried implementing too many changes in a short interval of time therefore he represents an autocratic leadership quality. Whereas, Lafley demonstrated democratic leadership skills and style, hence represents a democratic leader, who tries to convince all his employees (Bakhtari 1995). Jager’s leadership style was conservative, and very methodical whereas, Lafley took more pragmatic approach and a gradual approach. Lafley was considered to be transformational leader. Bass in 1985 suggested. Transformational leaders widen and promote the interests of masses, create awareness and acceptance among the people of the purposes and operation of the group and propel followers to go on the far side of their self-interests for the benefit of others (Hartog, Van Muijen and Koopman 1997). Therefore, demonstrating the transformational leadership skills, Lafley deeply inspired their employees. He always inspired his subordinates to perform beyond the expectation. As a transformational leader, Lafley gently communicated to employees stating the need to cultural change. Whereas, Jager do not believe in communicat ing the change process to its employees. Role of communication is really vital in the process of change. Postmes in 2001, suggests that employees will be actively committed if they attain adequate information to execute their task, and this message was presented to them via formal official channels rather than casual channels. Social communication with peer group and direct superiors foreseen commitment less than communication with more superior management did, and communication with a social emotional content was little  predictive of loyalty than formal communication (Elving 2006). Human Resource (HR) Practice: Human Resource is the most crucial asset for any organization and it is the root of achieving competitive advantage. Managing human resources is very difficult as compared to managing technology or capital and for its effectual management, administration requires effective HRM scheme. HRM system should always be backed up by safe HRM practices. HRM practices refer to business activities oriented at managing the reserve of human resources and ensuring that the resources are employed towards the satisfaction of organizational goals. Procter and Gamble (P&G) always treated employees of the organization as its own family members. The vision of the organization is to focus on the company’s principles, core values and purpose. The organization gives pay off on Saturday of every week. The organization offered a sickness, life insurance plan, and disability benefits. They moreover, granted forty-eight weeks of employment to the employees in a year. P&G’s recruitment process is comprehensive in manner, the HR department scans resume for the most promising candidate. The company selects its candidates on the basis of applicant’s aptitude test for problem solving and leadership skills. P&G’s HR policies focused on delegating responsibility and accountability to the new recruits in order to develop and build the long lasting careers with in the company. The unique feature of P&G is amongst the best features, i.e. the new recruits are supposed to spend the first year of their employment in the P&G’s college. In this college different types of courses are taught so that the new comer can gain a deep insight as to what to expect and how to deal with the situation that might erupt in future during the time of employment. However, P&G followed several code of conducts for the benefits of the employees and to encourage dedicate working environment. For instance; employees were reminded not to disturb other workers or to visit other sector or de partment, except in case of extreme urgency. All these rules and regulation changed slightly during the regime of two different leaders. Jager: Due to its transactional leadership nature, P&G was popularly known for its narrow – minded, and conservative image. Therefore, the HR policies under  Jager’s regime were not people- centered. This Change, from people – centric to target – centric came as a surprise to the employees. This shock created an outrage within the employees. This outrage further leads to resistance to change. The literature suggests that resistance occurs in situation when the goal, ideas, reason and targets of change is unclear and not wisely communicated to the employees. The employee resistance towards change, also occurred due to uncertainty, threat to skills and inconvenience etc. Schein in 1999 proposed, that the culture of organization is very difficult to change (Maurer 2006). In the very starting Jager, introduced an extended goal plans and therefore resulted in setting up the unrealistic targets for the employees. However on analyzing the situation, it seemed to be a good move, as it will help in uplifting those employees who are not performing or who are under performing. Whereas on the other hand, unachievable targets can also demotivate employees and further the employees may become unproductive in terms of work. From the situation, it can be analyzed that Locke’s goal setting theory is not used in this organization, under the regime of Jager. According to the theory of Locke, goals should always be specific, must be attainable in nature, must be accepted by the organizational members and most importantly the leader should provide feedback on the goal attained. All these are necessary to keep people motivated and aligned towards attaining the goal (Lunenburg 2011). In contrast with this theory, Jager proposed all things in contrast du to which employee’s resisted change. Secondly, he introduced a new remuneration system that was meant for only those employees that contributed extraordinary. This is both good and bad for employees, it is considered to be good because it gave recognition to the employees who performed well. While in a team-based achievement, rewarding an individual seems biased decision. This may further lead to different perception, employees will believe that re ward will be given to only those who perform extraordinary rather than to those who completes the job on time. This outcome can be related to Adam’s equity theory, wherein people compare themselves with others on the basis of time, efforts, sacrifices and outputs received (Al- Zawahreh and Al- Madi nd). The environment became informal under the regime of Jager that created equality amongst each other within the organization. Lastly, Jager made significant amount of job cuts while doing restructuring  of the organization. This came as a huge shock to the employees as all these actions were taken without their consent. Lafley: Lafley’s approach was more flexible and outwardly. He believed that the targets are unachievable and not realistic therefore, he decided that conservative goal plan would be a good option. Lafley joined P&G at the time when the organization was in loss hence, he wanted to save cost. In order to save cost he started cost- cutting. For this purpose, he disallowed employees of every department to work from home. This method definitely saved a of cost for the company. Recommendations and Conclusion: This report widely examined the organizational issues that were present in P&G under the leadership of Jager and Lafley. Both Jager and Lafley, undergone through changes in the context of leadership, HR practice and strategic development. It is therefore clear that both the leaders had very different styles of leadership and way of operating things. Moreover, throughout the case study it is evident that their different style of doing the job has affected the organization both negatively and positively. However, the next section will focus on the plan of action that P&G needs. Additionally, the report will have a five year plan and the main objective is to improvise its HR practices and culture of the organization. In order to craft this plan a SWOT analysis will be done on P&G’s existing HR rules and processors. SWOT of existing HR activities: SWOT Analysis is the most famous means for audit and analysis to know the total strategic position of the commercial enterprise and its environment. Its central aim is to determine the strategies that will create a firm constricted business model that will best adjust an organization’s resources and the environment in which the business functions (Johnson and Scholes 2010). Strengths: Under SWOT analysis strength deals with what benefit does your organization have over the rivals? What do you do better than anyone else in the same field? What specific or lowest-cost resources can you show upon that others can’t? What do people in your industry see as your strengths?. The core strength of P&G is their Policy that focuses entirely on the people. The organization’s policy is lined up according to the needs  of the employees. Therefore, P&G is often called as People Company. Another strength consists of its effective and efficient global processes such as training, recruitment, training and highly motivated staff. Procter and Gamble also have sustainable competitive advantage. Weaknesses: SWOT analyses under this determine things like what could you amend? What should you avert? What are masses in your market likely to perceive as weaknesses? What factors lose you gross revenue?. In the case of Procter and Gamble it can be analyzed that the company definitely lacked direction. It is evident that both leaders at there time had excellent aspirations for the organization but was poorly implemented. The second and the real weaknesses was that employees were not fully convinced with the idea of change, this could have been due to lack of communication within the organization. Lack of product offering was amongst other weaknesses. Opportunities: In this questions such as what good opportunities can you spot? What interesting trends are you aware of? . There were several opportunities open to P&G such as innovation of their products and brands. P&G would have tried exploring new market through expanding its business in other parts of the world. They need to be risk takers therefore should think of adopting growth and diversification Strategies. Threats: Under threats questions like what hurdles do you face? What are your rivals doing? Are quality specifications for your job, products or services dynamic?. Some of the threats affects P&G as a whole. For instance, intense competition changes in demographics and customer power. Another threat for this organization is economic downturn and global recession. Strategic Recommendations: This section will be based on the SWOT analysis that is done above, the following recommendations will be helpful in improving its HR performance, the profit of the organization and the culture of the organization. The foremost recommendation for P&G is to formulate an effective talent management. The process Involved in the talent management include workforce planning, development, retention, talent review and evaluation (Lewis and Heckman 2006). Talent management plays an important role in the HR department and the strategy should focus on business as a whole. The process  of talent management must be unified within the business strategies of the P&G. The organization needs to realize that to survive in the market it has to match the pace of the changing environment. Talent Planning: The HR professional employed in this field ensures that the organization is able to determine and pull in key people with the ability to create competitive advantage and that it actively manages an proper scale of resource to meet dynamic needs, fulfilling the brief and long-term ambitions of the administration strategy (CIPD 2013). P&G should encourage recruitment and selection of individuals who have the ability to add competitive value to its organization. This needs to be done across all the levels within the organization. Moreover, P&G must try to engage all the hired staff in training and Development as it will be good for people to enhance the right skills. Additionally, employees must be taught about cultural change so that they do not resist change. Learning and Development for employees: Employees along with rest of the staff need to enhance and develop the skills and capabilities required to stand out on the job with the help of organizational and individual training programs. This process will help in encouraging employee retention. The process of learning and development includes 3 main steps i.e. 1. Plan; where training need is gathered. 2. Do; in this step plan is implemented 3. Review; the last step, learning and development activities are monitored and evaluated. Performance Management in the organization: Performance Management is a process for setting up a common understanding about what is to be attained and how it is to be attained. It is a technique of managing people that expand the chance of achieving success (CIPD 2013). This generally deals with appraisals, performance etc. P&G as an organization needs to select the quality oriented view of the performance management that is related to the enhancing strong performance, regular improvement and coaching of workers by senior level of managers that helps to improve motivation of the job. Reward Management in Procter and Gamble: Reward management may merely defined as the joint actions an employer may take to stipulate at what levels worker wages will be offered, based on what standard and data, how the substance will be ordered over time, and how both the deliberate links between organizational goals and belief should be interpreted and acted on by the parties to the occupation kinship (Parkins and White 2011). It is amongst one of the ways when P&G can keep employee retention. This should cover pay structures, grade, and contingent pay and employee benefits as well. This overall suggests those employees efforts are accepted and this motivates workers to work better, hence ensures retention. Conclusion Concluding this report by suggesting the strategic plan for P&G to improve its HR practices. This plan is focused for five years that will include the strategies they have to adopt and they people who will implement the strategies for the people who will be affected by these strategies. Talent Planning is a strategy that will be implemented by the Chief Executive Officer and other senior executives for all the employees of P&G. The duration for this strategy is 2 years. The Learning and Development will be executed by the senior level managers for the mid and entry lever employees and this will take 3 years. Performance management will be perform by the senior executive and CEO that will be effective for all employees of P&G and its will be executed quarterly. CEO will do reward management strategy for all the employees of the company and it will be for 1 year. List of References Bradutan, S. and Sarbu, A. (ND) ‘ Advantages and Disadvantages of the Strategic Management in the Current Economic Context ‘. Journal of Management [online] 1-4. Available from [1 June 2013] Bryson, M.J. (1988) ‘A Strategic Planning Process for Public and Non-profit organizations’. The Journal Of Long Range Planning [online] 21 (1), 73-81. Available from [28 May 2013] CIPD (2012) ‘Development strategy’ [online] available from [1 June 2013] CIPD (2013) ‘ Performance Management: an overview’ [Online] available from [2 June 2013] Dr. Zawahreh, A.A and Dr. Madi, A.F (ND) ‘The Utility of Equity Theory in Enhancing Organizational Effectiveness ‘. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences [online] 1-31. Available from [31 May 2013] Hartog, D.N.D. , Muijen, V.J.J. and Koopman, L.P. (1997) ‘Transactional Versus Transformational Leadership: An Analysis of the MLQ’. Journal of occupational and organizational Psychology [online] 70, 19-34. Available from [4 June 2013] Hyun, S. (2009) ‘ Re-examination of Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation’. Available from [5 June 2013] Jones, B.B. and Brazzel, M. (2006) Handbook of Organization Development and Change Principles, Practices and Perspectives San Francisco: Pfeiffer Lai, A. (2011) ‘Transformational-Transaction Leadership Theory’. Journal of Leadership Theory [online] 1-34. Available from [2 June 2013] Lewis, E.R. and Heckman, J.R. (2006) ‘Talent Management: A Critical Review’. Journal of Human Resource Management Review [online] 16, 139-154. Available from [28 May 2013] Lumenburg, C.F. (2011) ‘Goal Setting Theory of Motivation’. International Journal of Management, Business and Administration [online] 15 (1), 1-6. Available from [30 May 2013] Perkins, J.S and White, G. (2011) ‘ Introducing the Reward Management System’ (2 edition), UK; CIPD

Gone with the Wind and Feminism

Gone with the Wind and Feminism Posted by Miriam Bale on Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 1:38 PM [pic] Molly Haskell, author ofFrankly, My Dear, will introduceGone with the Wind at Film Forum on Sunday afternoon. Gone with the Wind plays this weekend in Film Forum’s Victor Fleming festival, but is it really a Fleming film?Uber-producer David Selznick is the most consistent author, and Selznick doppelganger George Cukor directed a significant amount of scenes, giving this domestic war film some moments more delicate and subtle than anything else in Fleming’s oeuvre (and after macho Fleming was brought on replace the openly gay Cukor at Clark Gable’s urging, the â€Å"women’s director† went on to coach Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland on weekends, at their insistence, throughout the shoot); and Vivien Leigh gives a scarily mercurial performance in almost every scene, owning the film entirely.At the time of the film’s release, Frank Nugent in the New Y ork Times wrote, â€Å"Is it the greatest motion picture ever made? Probably not, although it is the greatest motion mural we have ever seen. † It’s a mural made by many hands, and the esteemed critic Molly Haskell’s latest book, Frankly My Dear: Gone with the Wind Revisited does a fabulous job of parsing out the contributions.She reveals nuggets like Howard Hawks’ supposed uncredited contribution in rewriting some of the dialogue in the last section, the battle of the sexes showdown between Rhett and Scarlett, which helps make sense why this particular section feels like an entirely different film from the historical romance of Part 1. Another uncredited writer was F. Scott Fitzgerald; Haskell's digging suggests that what he eliminated from the film may be as important as what anyone else contributed.She also describes writer Ben Hecht maintaining as a point-of-pride that he had never nor never would read the mass-market epic romance on which the film wa s based—so Selznick and Fleming stayed up all night on a diet of speed and peanuts acting out the story for him (with Selznick as Scarlett and Fleming playing Melanie). Haskell’s book also focuses on the one-hit-wonder novelist Margaret Mitchell, telling the ascinating history of this flapper-turned-frumpy matron who rebelled against her serious, feminist southern belle of a mother by becoming a connoisseur and practitioner of frivolity as an art. As Mitchell’s background might suggest, Gone with the Wind is a complicated universe for a feminist to tackle. And yet this is exactly the sort of conflicted, non-PC and pre-Second Wave world of women that Haskell has consistently celebrated and examined through films, serving a unique and crucial role in American feminism.As Haskell describes this position in connection to a 1972 panel she took part in on women in film, in which Gloria Steinem deplored the scenes in Gone with the Wind of Scarlett O’Hara squeeze d into a corset and Haskell then rose to defend that character as a courageous survivor: â€Å"Both of our reactions were in their own way, right.But this difference of perspective was also an early augur of the fault lines in feminism or perhaps a necessary split focus: between those predisposed to see and proclaim signs of the victimization of women in a benighted world now progressing toward enlightenment and equality and those inclined to be heartened by the contradictions—the women in the past (both real and fictional) who’d held their own in a chauvinist culture, who’d subverted the norms and gained victories not always apparent through a literal reading of the plot. Of course, just as Gone with the Wind is both tricky and rich personal territory for a southern-raised feminist like Haskell to examine, it is also difficult—even in coverage this brief—for a black feminist like myself to look at honestly. Gone with the Wind is unarguably, painf ully racist, yet extraordinarily valuable for examining just how and why.The film displays insipid white stereotypes in some of the minor characters as much as it does obscenely destructive black ones, and yet the main characters Rhett and Scarlett seem to exist outside of this orbit, beyond expectations of both gender or race; identification with these two characters is widespread and complex, by all races. Just as Selznick’s Duel in the Sun inspired Laura Mulvey to overhaul her views on female identification, GWTW is ripe for looking at where racial identification splits and falls in this film, even after Haskell’s sharp, thorough and artfully written book has covered so uch intellectual and historic territory. Haskell will be on hand at 3pm screening at Film Forum on Sunday to introduce this problematic and fascinating piece of film history. She’ll also be signing copies of her book, a coup of single-work film criticism that is highly intelligent, personal an d never relies on jargon or cliches. Besides her unique and crucial role in American feminism, Haskell is also one of the best writers on film in America, and both as a critic and stylist she’s only getting better. Molly Haskell’s Feminist Take on Gone with the Wind y Melissa Silverstein on March 2, 2009 in Books Molly Haskell is the shit when it comes to writing about women’s films with a feminist perspective. There is no one better. Her book From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies is one of the best books about women in film and it was written in the 70s. (There is an a[pic]dditional chapter that covers the 70s and 80s in the paperback. ) That just goes to show you how few books have critically looked at this issue (from a non-academic perspective. Haskell has taken on one of the most beloved films Gone with the Wind in her new book Frankly My Dear which is out now. The book has gotten stellar reviews and including in the NY Times this wee kend. Haskell’s argument is mounted on feminist principles that at first glance seem antithetical to a film widely regarded as prefeminist fluff. She contends that â€Å"themes centering on women† are â€Å"always an inferior subject matter to socially conscious critics of literature and film. † After 70 years of â€Å"GWTW† bashing, a creditable critic finally says, â€Å"Not so fast! Haskell gave up regular reviewing in the early ’90s, leaving criticism that seriously examined the big-screen image of women and the popular representation of female social roles to go underground — into academic studies where abstruse, tenure-seeking jargon is used to rebuff popular taste. That makes â€Å"Frankly, My Dear† all the more remarkable. It’s Haskell’s feminist perspective that provides insight into a movie most academics won’t touch and current critics dismiss. She disentangles the film’s qualities from the conf ounding issues of misogy ­ny, racism and intellectual snobbery.

The Role of Leadership in Organisational Change

In discussing the role of leadership in organisational change, one must first understand the rudiments of leadership and theories that surround it, understand what change is and the essential qualities that a leader must possess to bring about change.Defining LeadershipThere is much literature and research in the areas of leadership and management with many writers differentiating the two. A common conclusion is that a good manager may not be a good leader. So what is the difference between them? French, R., et al, (2011) says that while managers engage in solving problems and supervising work, leaders do not just instruct people on what to do. Leaders inspire and motivate the people who follow and support them thereby creating opportunities for the long-term. An environment where leadership is mentioned a lot and developed is the military. However, the command-and-control â€Å"leadership† where an officer barks orders to his troops is not leadership because he is legally aut horised to do it (Cohen, 2010).In support of this, Buchanan and Huczynski (1985) say that it is a â€Å"social process† where one person influences other’s behaviours without using threats of violence. By the latter definition, we can surmise that what goes on in the army is certainly far from leadership as threats are a way of life in the military! In the case of the military officer, he is said to be endowed with Formal Leadership, giving him formal authority over his men. When a staff has access to resources, information or has specialised skills, he may be viewed as an Informal Leader as he exerts influence over others who may not be their subordinates nor even be in the same department as them (French, et al, 2011).So, while managers make things happen because the company says they are authorised to do so, leaders achieve the company’s objectives by influencing their colleagues or subordinates to co-operate (Rosen Bach & Taylor, 1993). Lussier & Achua (2007 ) say that mutual influence between a leader and those he leads reach their organisational goals by making changes together. According to Fielder (1967), the acid test of a leader is his ability to achieve greater performance for his organisation. Hence, studies of leadership must be related to how the leader improves management control strategies and how he regulates work place behaviour (Thomson & McHugh,  2002).According to Cohen (2010), there are 8 laws that he termed â€Å"universal laws† which forms the heart of leadership. Though these 8 things that leaders must do are simple, the absence of one can make a difference between success and failure. Although success cannot be guaranteed, abiding by these 8 laws, one can increase the chances of success: 1.Maintaining absolute integrity2.Being technically competent 3.Communicating expectations 4.Show exemplary commitment 5.Expect positive results 6.Looking after the interest of your people 7.Putting duty before self 8.Lead ing from the frontSECTION 2 : Theories on LeadershipAccording to Bass (1990), the three basic theories of leadership are the Trait Theory, Great Event Theory and Transformation Theory. Robbins (1996) had a different view and wrote that the three theories important to leadership development are Trait Theory, Behaviour Theory and Situational Theory. French, et al, (2011) summarised and divided the theories on leadership into 2 categories: Traditional Theories and New Theories. Traditional Theories are further grouped into Theories on leader traits and behaviours and situational leadership. New theories refer to Charismatic Leadership and Transformational Leadership. See diagram below.Trait theories on leadership were developed from research which tried to identify attributes that great leaders were born with which differentiates them from non-leaders. How effective these leaders are depends on the influence the leader wields over his subordinate’s performance, satisfaction and overall effectiveness (Derue, et al, 2011). Galton’s (1869) view that these immutable traits are only found in leaders born with them and they cannot be developed has been challenged and criticized by many for over a hundred years. However, research has continued on linking personality traits on effectiveness of leaders and showed that successful leaders possess  personality traits that impact their success.This helps organisations in their selection, training and development of potential leaders (Derue et al., 2011). In Bass’s (1990) Great Event Theory, leaders are created when great changes or crisis happen driving certain characteristics to be forged in individuals, enhancing their performance. This theory predisposes that leadership creation is still involuntary and not proactive unlike the Transformational Leadership Theory where anyone can learn skills on how to lead. It would appear that leaders are not ‘born’ but they are shaped by their environm ent, including upbringing and career. (French, et al, 2011)Criticisms of the trait theories led to the development of behaviour theories theorizing that actions and behaviour exhibited by a leader and not his personality is what identifies him as one. In late 1940s, University of Michigan conducted studies concluding that there are 2 types of leadership; Worker-oriented leadership and Task-oriented leadership. While the former is focussed on employee welfare, the latter concentrates on achievement of organisational objectives. Behavioural theory explains leadership vis-à  -vis the behaviour of leaders but does not consider the situation or the environment that the leader is operating in. The criticism is that given different situations, the same leadership behaviours may not be observed.Shortcomings of the behaviour theories led to Situational Contingency Theories of Fiedler (1967), House (1974), Hersey and Blanchard (1988) and Kerr and Jermier (1978). Horner (1997), a situational theorist, says that an effective leader should be able to adapt his leadership style according to the work situation he is in. The leadership styles identified by House’s (1974) Path-Goal theory are Directive, Supportive, Participative and Achievement-oriented styles. Contemporary leadership theorists like House (1974) and Conger and Kanungo (1998) researched on Charismatic Leadership.They wrote that certain attitudes and attributes can be bundled together to determine charisma in a leader. What they do and how they do it to influence the desired actions from their followers is how charismatic leaders are successful as leaders (French, et al, 2011). Charisma is a key component of transformational leadership and as such, many of its characteristics are also found in successful transformational leaders. So while charismatic leaders may not be transformational leaders, transformational leaders need to be charismatic to achieve their mission of change (DuBrin, 2010).DuBrin  (20 10) wrote that transformational leaders display attributes that distinguish them from others. Some attributes include charisma, high emotional intelligence, visioning skills, communication skills, give feedback, recognize subordinate’s achievements, practice empowerment, innovative and high moral reasoning. Bass (1990) distinguished between Transactional and Transformational leadership saying that the former has to do with daily communications and exchanges between a leader and his subordinates. This is usually task-based and routine. Transformational leadership, on the other hand, enables subordinates to broaden their goals and elevate performance beyond expectations with the use of charisma, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individualised consideration.SECTION 3 : Organisational ChangeThe mother of all clichà ©s, â€Å"The only constant in life is change†, sums up rather neatly that all organisations, large or small, simple or complex, will face changes wi thin itself and in its environment. Writers have consensus that at this day and age, change is a much larger issue than decades past as the rate of change, especially for technological change, is increasing at an exponential rate (Balogun and Hope Hailey, 2004; Burnes, 2004; Senior, 2002). Being omni-present in organisations at all levels, the importance of the leader’s ability to assess its present stage, evaluate it against its desired state, define its performance gaps and plan organisational changes to reach the desired end cannot be emphasized more (Burnes, 2004).Burnes (2004) goes on to say that organisational strategy and change are inseparable. According to Moran and Brightman (2001), because of the continually changing needs of stakeholders internally and externally, a good leader will also be continuously planning the organisation’s direction, its capabilities and structure to meet those changes. Because organisational change is of paramount importance, the s kills that a leader must have to effect changes successfully are highly sought after (Senior, 2002). In fact, managers today may find that their primary task in an environment of globalisation, technological innovation, constantly changing demographics, deregulation and knowledge explosion, is to provide leadership for organisational change (Graetz, 2000)Organisational change can be planned or unplanned. Unplanned changes occur  spontaneously without any conscious effort on the part of the manager to effect change (French, et al, 2011). It is usually due to changes in the conditions of the environment and is reactive in nature. Planned change happens when the manager takes proactive measures to address a performance gap to get to desired outcomes that meet organisational goals and objectives. Although it is generally accepted that in a highly competitive environment, change is a necessity to survive, Balogun and Hope Hailey (2004) found that about 70 per cent of all plans for orga nisational change fail. According to Dunphy and Stace (1993), there are 4 characteristics in the scale of the change. They are Fine Tuning, Incremental Adjustment, Modular Transformation and Corporate Transformation.In Fine Tuning, the leader makes very small changes to processes, human capital, structure and strategy so they work coherently to reach the organisational goal. It is usually done within the divisional or departmental level and is referred to as convergent change (Nelson, 2003) Similar to fine tuning, Incremental Adjustment involves making slightly more changes to managerial processes, corporate strategies and structures but not to the extent of radical change (Senior, 2002). The difference is that the changes are bigger here. In Modular Transformation, the scale of change has move from being intra-departmental to departmental-wide or division-wide alignments.However, change in this category has not reached organisation-wide, which is discussed next. Major changes to ke y executives, restructuring of a division and downsizing a department are examples (Dunphy & Stace, 1993). Finally, Corporate Transformation which encompasses radical changes in mission, vision and core values, major strategic direction shifts, organisational restructuring and changes in top management and key appointments, is the largest of the 4 types of change (Dunphy & Stace, 1993). The key difference between corporate and modular transformations is that the former is organisation-wide, which means that every person in the organisation is affected. SECTION 4 : The Process of Change Beckhard & Gleicher (1969) wrote on a formula for change. This formula is sometimes referred to as Gleicher’s Formula. The formula shows the forces  that drive change and the aims to predict when change will be successful.This formula explains that leaders in an organisation need to be firstly, unhappy with how things are going and must know where they want to head towards. If D is absent, th en the organisation may be complacent and may not want to move from their position. D without V will mean that the organisation has no direction for change. Even if D and V are present, without taking the first positive step, change will just be an idea; hence, action must be taken.Therefore the product of D, V and F cannot be zero which means that any of the 3 values cannot be zero. If any of the 3 is absent, the drive to change will not overcome resistance. The other factor to consider is the magnitude of D, V and F against the magnitude of R. The product of D, V and F must be greater than R for there to be change. The greater the product, the greater the probability that change will happen. However, this formula does not guarantee that the change will be successful. For change to be successful, change leaders or change agents must have attributes to lead change.There are many reasons why people resist change and it usually has to do with the fear of the unknown. As a result, they will find ways to slow change down or sabotage it so it does not happen (Lines, 2004). Instead of trying to overcome resistance, leaders should take it as a form of feedback and understand why the employee perceives threats to win them over and achieve change objectives (French, et al, 2011).SECTION 5 : Phases of ChangeThe work of Kurt Lewin on phases of planned change is oft quoted and still very relevant today. He says that the 3 phases are â€Å"Unfreezing†, â€Å"Changing† and â€Å"Refreezing† and the leader should be sensitive in each of these phases (Lewin, 1952). â€Å"Unfreezing† or preparation phase prepares the ground for change. Leaders will have convinced themselves of a need for change using the Formula for Change. What they have to do now is to enable his followers to feel the same need and reduce resistance to change.French, et al, (2011) referred to this phase as similar to â€Å"generating energy for transformation† in Miles†™ (1997) framework for planned organizational change leadership. Lewin’s unfreezing phase also includes what Miles refers to as â€Å"Developing a vision of the future†. The leader needs to communicate this  vision effectively to his followers and ensure buy-in for his changes to succeed. The 8-stage process of change by Kotter (1996) lists the first 4 stages as : †¢Establishing a Sense of Urgency†¢Creating a Guiding Coalition †¢Developing a Vision and Strategy †¢Communicating the Change VisionKotter refers to these 4 stages as â€Å"defrosting† which essentially means unfreezing. He says that managers sometimes skip these 4 stages and go headlong into restructuring or downsizing and eventually face insurmountable roadblocks or change that is not sustainable, that is, change that will not stick. The next phase of change, â€Å"Changing†, according to Lewin (1952), refers to the nitty-gritty nuts and bolts of change like re-structur ing, re-organisation, reshaping culture, training and development to build competencies required to fulfil the new vision. According to Miles (1997), this is referred to as â€Å"aligning the internal context†. Kotter (1996), on the other hand, splits this phase into 3 more stages in his 8-stage process of creating major change: †¢Empowering Broad-based Action†¢Generating Short-term Wins †¢Consolidating Gains and Producing more ChangeLewin’s (1952) final phase, â€Å"Refreezing†, is where leaders evaluate results and either makes modifications to improve results from the change or reinforce outcomes for achieving change objectives. The purpose of refreezing is so that change can be permanent and will â€Å"stick†. Miles refers to this as â€Å"Creating a transformation process architecture† which involves having feedback and communication mechanisms, support, education mechanisms and coordination mechanisms. This stage coincides with Kotter’s final stage in his 8-stage process called â€Å"Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture†.SECTION 6 : Leadership and Organisational ChangeSetting direction, giving inspiration and ensuring that lasting change is implemented organisation-wide is a key role that all leaders play. Good leadership and management of change is a critical ingredient in organisational change because it is essentially a people issue and human nature is such that its first instinct is to resist change (Coburn, 2006). Lack of effort, too great a change over too short a time and emphasis on top management rather than engaging lower levels are key reasons for failure to execute change programmes (Manikandan, 2010).It is critical to understand that organizations consist of complex human interactions such that all intended change needs to be handled with sensitivity. Change initiatives fail not because of the lack of intelligent leaders or noble causes but due to the lack of emotional buy-in from stakeholders. So leaders of change need to have skills and competencies to ensure successful change initiatives. Buchanan & Boddy (1992) grouped 15 core competencies and skills into 5 clusters:Diagram 1 : Buchanan & Bodd’s Clustering of Skills and Competencies Buchanan & Boddy (1992) grouped the skills and competencies into clusters of activities. However, upon analysis, they can be grouped into 2 broad categories; Competencies & Attributes of good leaders and Communication & EQ Skills of good leaders. This is illustrated in the diagram below.Diagram 2 : Grouping Skills into Competencies and Skills Competencies & AttributesA successful leader must be sensitive to his environment, including but not limited to being aware of market conditions, intra-company politics, conflicting goals of different departments, how the sum of parts in an organisation works together to achieve its goals (helicopter viewpoint) and who the power brokers are within the organisation. Having thi s competency will enable the change leader to appraise the status quo and determine the gap that needs to be closed in order to reach the new vision. Hence, the leader’s comprehension and clarity of his vision will be enhanced. â€Å"Flexibility† and â€Å"Tolerance of ambiguity† might well be two sides of the same coin. Not all changes will go according to plan nor all reactions to change, especially resistance, are predictable.Hence, a good leader will have a fair amount of tolerance of the unknown and in exhibiting this, be flexible enough to modify his change plans to reach his objectives and to minimise resistance to change. Finally, the leader must have enthusiasm as he is the change agent. He is the champion of that change and if he cannot  show that he believes in it and is behind it 100%, he will not be able to get buy-in for it. Communication & EQ SkillsThe skills listed in this box are all related to skills in effective communications but tempered w ith a good measure of emotional quotient (EQ). As discussed above, the challenges in change management are mainly found in the management of people. Hence, EQ in communication is key to success. Effective communication where the message is conveyed accurately from the sender to the receiver is a basic requirement of any leader. However for a change leader, communicating while exercising EQ will make the message more acceptable to the recipient and hence enhance successful change.This is especially true when a leader wants to ‘sell’ the idea of change or when he ‘negotiates’ for a win-win solution to effect changes. He has to use all his ‘influence’ and exhibit charismatic leadership to win the support of his colleagues and subordinates. How he does this may be through the use of ‘motivation’. Using his EQ, the leader will be able to empathise with his subordinates and understand their fears and concerns know what motivates them and use this in his effort to garner support or reduce resistance.The leader needs to use his ‘networking’ skills to access resources within and outside the company in order to implement his change plan. One must not forget that in transformational change, everyone and every department in an organisation will be affected. Hence the leader cannot work in isolation. Finally, using ‘teambuilding’ skills, the leader can build a cohesive force to successfully implement all the changes that the organisation wants to put in place and make those changes stick or in the words of Lewin (1983), â€Å"Refreeze†.SECTION 7 : ConclusionFor over a century, behavioural scientists, psychologists and even sociologists have studied leadership, trying to define, explain and even predict situations when leadership qualities and attributes will be displayed. They have tried to explain if leadership is inborn or a result of the external environment. Whether it is inherent in p ersonality or whether it can be learnt and developed. Contemporary theorists conclude that although certain traits that are inborn are those found in great  leaders, other attributes of good leadership can indeed be developed.Organisational change, inescapable as it were, is a challenge for leaders. Leaders need to prepare the ground and communicate the changes needed to move the organisation forward (Unfreeze), make the changes with sensitivity and exercise EQ (Change) and get buy-in and support for the changes to make them stick (Refreeze). To execute change plans, leaders need to have the communication skills, EQ, competencies and attributes required for transformational change.

Rogerian Argument on The Chinese in all of Us Essay

Rogerian Argument on The Chinese in all of Us - Essay Example He thinks that there is no such thing as multiculturalism, there is only a melting pot and all the cultures go in and a different culture(s) emerges. The theme is relevant to all, as everyone supposedly belongs to some culture or race. If the only constant is change then what is a culture anyway? If certain tradition, style of speaking, food and dress remains specific to a place for a certain amount of time, does it mean it will always stay that way, if this is not true then what happened to the Stone Age culture and hunting with spears made of bone and wood? Shouldn’t we all hold on to our ‘true culture’? Rodriguez is right in his reasoning because he grew up in America, born to a Mexican family. He lived through all of the cultural amalgamation in the US. There are no hard and fast rules to cultures anymore. Probably there is no culture after all, but the culture of change and evolution. Rodriguez is right in arguing that there is no multiculturalism, it is just a haze. He astoundingly explains this to an interviewer who asks him if he considers himself as Hispanic or American, and he replies, Chinese. That is what he grew up with; a little bit of this and a little bit of that. He is born to Mexican parents and goes to an American school (where he’s shown to speak ‘proper’ English) and has Chinese neighbors. The ‘proper’ English even teaches him how to say his own name as the school teacher writes his name on the board and reads it out loud and asks him to follow along, so that the whole class gets familiar with his name and he gets to say his name in a certain accent; the ‘proper’ accent, this is what the culture (or multiculture) is all about. However, certain things remain specific to certain cultures, for instance Asian culture is very different from the Western culture; â€Å"Many Asian cultures have distinct conceptions of individuality that insist on the fundamental relatedness of indiv iduals to each other. The emphasis is on attending to others, fitting in, and harmonious interdependence with them.† (Markus and Kitayama, 1991) But there is something in the world that brings together different cultures, the melting pot. The author frequently uses the term melting pot and prefers it over common culture or multiculture. The term melting pot represents the trend in culture in a better way. The author has introduced two different views about the ‘melting pot theory’, one is positive while the other has some negativity attached to it. The author says that the melting pot has changes people. When someone goes into it, their identity is lost. An African will not remain African after the melting pot treatment. The loss of identity or separation from the origin is what he refers to as something which he doesn’t look forward to. He accepts it only because of its inevitability. The inevitable side of the ‘identity loss’ makes sense. Thi s world belongs to everyone; it would be ridiculous to think that certain race will remain in a certain piece of land for all eternity; an impossibility. They will eventually travel to some other part of this world. And when they live with the other ‘cultures’ they will take some part of it and will give some of theirs; â€Å"Even while America changes the immigrants, the immigrants are changing us† (Rodriguez) The other way Rodriguez sees the melting pot is somewhat of a miracle pot. A person goes in it and comes out as something different. The pot has magical powers, but he question is; does it bring people closer or pushes them away? Clearly it brings them closer at the cost of the so called ‘identity’. The only thing wrong with this approach is when people are forced to adapt to certain norms. They have their own culture and lifestyle, why would the dominant culture suppress it

Earned value management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Earned value management - Coursework Example Work should be broken down into small elements that are appropriate for planning, scheduling, budgeting, progress measuring, cost accounting, and management control. According to Paul & Young (2006), earned value management is aimed at measuring the progress of an activity against a clear baseline. There are three main values calculated for an activity in earned value management. These include; the planned value (PV), the actual cost (AC) and the earned value (EV). To start with, the planned value is referred to as the budgeted cost of the project’s work scheduled. The portion of the cost approved is used for a given activity within a specified period of time. Suppose there is an activity that entails installing of a new server after purchasing. If for instance, it will take one week according to the plan and cost $30,000 for the hardware, labor hours and the software that is involved. The planned value in this case will therefore be $30,000 for that week. The actual cost (AC) on the other hand is referred to as the actual cost of work performed. According to Ray (2006), actual cost precisely refers to the total costs incurred in completing the entire work on an activity for a given period of time. This cost ought to correspond to the budget for the planned value in terms of equipment, material, labor, and the indirect costs. If an activity of installing electricity in a business building costs $80,000 after its completion then the actual cost is $80,000. The earned value (EV) is referred to as the budget cost of work performed (Gary 2001). This is the value of a project that is actually completed. Let’s say for example, a project has a budget cost of $200, and by a given time it is 40 percent finished. The earned value is therefore $80 but scheduled value at that point is $100. This

Necessity of Supply Chain Management Research Paper

Necessity of Supply Chain Management - Research Paper Example The present research has identified that in a round of the activities involved, supply chain management deals with the purchasing and storage of the various raw materials that are necessary for production of the product, the inventory involved within the manufacturing stage (creation of the product) and the handling of the final product up to its point of consumption. It ensures that no snag in terms of the materials involved in any of these stages is come across acting as a hindrance to the provision of the final product to the consumer. The necessity for supply chain management can be seen through the various responsibilities that are seen in this activity. Business has grown and developed over the years and has expanded from the simple buying and selling into a series of activities and responsibilities required to ascertain  the smooth operations of such a setup. One of these responsibilities is supply chain management, and this aspect of the business has become an integral frac tion of the business activities that take place in a company. Supply chain management can be termed as the running of all businesses that happen to be interconnected with one another in relation to their involvement in the provision of a product or a service that is required in the creation of the final end product that is required by a consumer. This means that it deals with all the various parties that are involved in the different steps that are needed in the production of a good or a service so as to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Philosophy of religion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophy of religion - Assignment Example Plato calls for an in-depth inquiry between the processes of thinking in relation to the soul. Thus, he posts a question on why should a just soul lived through a just life be the ruler of society. Rather than simply agreeing with his teacher, Plato’s dialogues seek for the confrontation of these ideas though subsequently agreeing with it (Miller, n.d., pp. 173-174). The virtuous man is another philosophical awareness that he inculcates in Republic where the ruler is demanded to be good and must prioritize the people. There is what McPherran (1996) regards as an agnostic inclination of Socrates on the goodness of death since Socrates does not claim expertise on the subject matter. He recognizes the existing religious beliefs including the tales that come with mythological teachings but does not adhere to it. He is more persuaded on gods and judges that will determine one’s fate on the afterlife (p.259). The concept of the soul and the afterlife is a widely debated relig ious topic. The conception of Socrates and the stress he puts on the tending of the soul points out to his belief on a metaphysical form of man. As a religious topic, the soul can be perceived in most of all world religions with varying understanding from heaven and hell in Christianity to reincarnation and nirvana to Buddhism along with many other beliefs. 2. Does commitment to philosophical exploration imply the embodiment of certain virtues? If so, does this, or could this, lead to the practice of asceticism? Consider either the case of Socrates or Plato (or both) to answer this question. The call of Socrates toward a virtuous life toward the nurturing of the soul and the embodiment of the just ruler does to an extent lead to asceticism as contemplated. The virtues of a ruler are of paramount importance to Socrates in the Republic. He regards that a man who desires so strongly for one thing will necessarily be weak when it comes to other things. He must be able to divert this

Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Energy - Essay Example The major difference between renewable energy and nonrenewable energy is the ability of renewable energy to renew. For example, wind energy is a renewable energy source which will be available in this world as long as this world remains in its present state. On the other hand same thing cannot be said about nonrenewable energy. For example, oil or natural gas energy sources are exhausting day by day and it is not replaced by any of the natural means. Because of the nonrenewable nature of nonrenewable energy, this energy source is going to lose its significance in near future or 50 years from now. Renewable energy sources will gain prominence in near future itself. Moreover, nonrenewable energy sources are causing severe environmental problems like air pollution, water pollution, global warming, climate changes etc and therefore it is difficult to rely on nonrenewable energy sources further. For example, â€Å"Air pollution, thermal pollution, land devastation, groundwater pollution, acidification of streams and rivers, erosion, subsidence of land caused by underground mines, hazards to miners, and, of course, global warming are all recognized as part and parcel of coal’s utilization† (Smith, 2009, p.162). On the other hand renewable energies such as wind energy, tidal energy, solar energy etc are causing little or no damage to the environment. In my opinion, solar energy seems to be the future energy source. The major advantage of solar energy is the less environmental problems it can generate and its abundant nature. Solar energy reaches every part of the earth 12 hours per day. If we can develop technologies feasible for the exploitation of solar energy, we need not be worried too much about the energy crisis in future. The major problem associated with the exploitation of solar energy is the lack of feasible technologies to convert solar energy into other forms of energy. Since solar energy is available only in day time, it is necessary to

Family Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Family Law - Essay Example of marriage relationships3 have made fair redistribution of financial assets on divorce a daunting task to judges, while the legal advisers and parties remain largely uncertain of the outcome. The present research attempts to understand the legal developments concerning ancillary relief over the past ten years in England and Wales, and analyse to what extent they have been successful in achieving a fair outcome for the parties concerned in such applications. Given the fact that a ‘fair outcome’ in a claim proceeding is influenced by the legislative coverage, the court’s approach in interpreting the provisions and the complexity rules and procedures, the review of legal developments shall essentially consider the major changes to the legislation, the major developments in case law as well as the changes to the rules and procedures towards achieving a fair outcome for the parties. Ancillary relief – the apportioning of financial assets and income of the parties to the marriage– remains one of the major issues to be resolved on divorce. The basic law and judicial considerations for ancillary relief are contained in Part II of the Matrimonial Causes Act (MCA) 1973, amended by the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 imposing a ‘clean break’ obligation on the courts. Statutory improvements have been impacted the provisions, a review of which shall be endeavoured. The 1973 Act provided courts with the power award maintenance and grant lump sums via division of income, but more significantly to make property adjustment orders, enabling capital division of assets.4 While this by itself was ‘revolutionary reforming measure,’5 as traditionally ancillary relief was limited to only income, the Act made no mention of the pension rights of the spouses, except merely stating it as a ‘benefit’ for consideration while dividing family assets. Considering the fact that during the marriage both parties would have looked to it as a joint fund for their

Historical reference to U.S. counter-terrorism practices, and how Essay

Historical reference to U.S. counter-terrorism practices, and how these practices have been developed - Essay Example Two sections, besides the introductory one, deal with key issues in crafting the US counterterrorism strategies, while the third section lays a particular emphasis on the current approach to countering acts of terror and terrorist networks. Thus, the final section discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the present-day US counterterrorism policy and draws a conclusion about its effectiveness. Introduction As a general rule, terrorism is unsusceptible to exact definition insofar as certain interpretations could justify violence, especially actions conducted under the banner of politics, which is otherwise unacceptable (White, 2012). Thus, as White (2012) states, terrorism denotes different things to different people, being called either revolutionary war or crime in one or another period of history. On the other hand, according to White (2012), terrorism itself, along with the counter-terrorist responses, are practices that have always been in transition; while Ambassador Michael Sh eehan (retd) points out that terrorism is both provoked and sustained by technological progress, development and, perhaps most notably, globalization (Alexander & Kraft, 2008). In that regard, the smaller the world has become, the more capable terrorists would appear – whether in terms of communication, travel, funding, or weaponry (Alexander & Kraft, 2008). The advent of global-oriented terrorism in the 1990s, being represented first and foremost by Islamic Jihad- and al-Qaeda-led activities worldwide, appears a powerful argument in favor of that statement (Anderson and Sloan, 2009). In his foreword to Evolution of US Counterterrorism Policy, Ambassador Sheehan (retd) concluded that the US counterterrorism policies generally present a perspective on the evolution of terrorism itself (Alexander & Kraft, 2008). Being largely preoccupied with traditional interstate conflict and counterinsurgency, the US national security establishment first recognized the terrorist threat in th e early 1970s; while the increasing frequency, considerably extended reach and magnified lethality of terrorist attacks in the 1980s and 1990s up to the post 9/11 era, firmly shifted the focus of attention on terrorism in order to become US national security policy’s top priority (Sheehan in Alexander & Kraft, 2008). Correspondingly, the US counter-terrorist responses and tactics reflected the growing complexity of terrorist threat worldwide, including weapons of mass destruction, cyber-terrorism, etc. (Lia, 2003). The Times of Blissful Ignorance There have been numerous acts of terrorism across the world in modern times, but the United States became a prime terrorist target as late as the 1980s; until then, the term terrorism had been applied to various groups, including revolutionaries, anarchists, nationalists and violent left-wing activists, who mainly targeted European citizens and governments (White, 2012). As the meaning of terrorism fluctuated over time, the forms of terrorist activity also fluctuated between group violence, rioting and guerilla warfare (White, 2012). In turn, the tactics employed by terrorist organizations varied from kidnapping to assassinations and bombings, including suicide ones. The attack on the

Advantages and Disadvantages of Being the Only Child Essay Example for Free

Advantages and Disadvantages of Being the Only Child Essay What are the pros and cons of being the only child? There are some options in this subject. Some children feel well withouth siblings but others dream about a brother or a sister. One of the main advantages of being the only child is that your parents pay attention only to you. You are the most important person in their lives. Parents do everything for you. For example, if you want a new toy or some clothes they go to a shop and just buy it for you. Moreover, you have everything for yourself. You do not have to share the room, the computer and any other things. What is more you get more presents or more money. In addition to that, there is no person to quarrel with. You are alone and no one can take your things and do something wrong with them. No one disturbs you. You are a family pet and you get all parential love. On the other hand there are also some disadvantages. First of all, the only children are very spoiled and selfish. They are used to thinking that they are the most important people so they must have everything only for themselves. When something is not going according to the way they planned it, they get angry. But it is not all. Being the only child means that parents put preassure on you. You have to still prove that you are the best. You have to het a A for every classroom test otherwise your parents will be disappointed with you. Last but not least, the only child may sometimes feel lonely. Other children can go out with siblings for example to a disco, to friends or even to school. The only child must go solitary or with friends, although it is not the same. They have nobody who can borrow them some clothes or other things. To sum up, being the only child has many advantages but also a lot of disadvantages. Being such a child can be good, although in my opinion these people feel lonely and sad. Personally, I do not want to be the only child.

Relationship Between Employees and Health Care Organizations Essay Example for Free

Relationship Between Employees and Health Care Organizations Essay Analyze the factors affecting the relationship between employees and health care organizations to determine which single factor is the most significant. Explain your reasoning. The long-term economic success of healthcare organizations depends on the efforts of employees with the appropriate capabilities and motivation to perform their jobs well. Organizations that are successful over time have understood that individual relationships do matter and should be managed. (Flynn, Mathis amp; Jackson, 2011) The relationship between individuals and healthcare organizations is influenced by outside forces. Four of the biggest influences are economic changes, the expectations of different generations of individuals, loyalty, and changing career expectations for women. These factors affect the psychological contracts in a number of ways. (Flynn, Mathis amp; Jackson, 2011) All of these factors are just as significant and important but the only that I feel has the more impact is the loyalty. One important organizational value that affects employee loyalty is trust. Employees who believe that they can trust their managers, coworkers, and the organizational justice systems are much less willing to leave their current employers. According to a survey conducted by a nursing magazine, one of the top reasons given for RNs leaving their previous employers was a lack of trust and confidence in management. (Flynn, Mathis amp; Jackson, 2011) Supportive learning and working environment are crucial factor for job satisfaction, especially in the field of nursing. An ageing population with an increasing number of patients suffering from chronic diseases are included in the factors affecting work environments negatively, resulting in dissatisfied employees. To improve the environment and prevent persistent employee dissatisfaction, Richer at al. 2009) suggested â€Å"appreciative inquiry† to create radical changes. Knowles (1990) reported that a supportive learning environment is considered to be a critical  element of human resource development, and he acknowledged the need for the development of individual workers through improvements to the educational aspect. Four of the biggest influences between employees and health care organizations are economic changes, the expectations of different generations of individuals, loyalty, and changing career expectations for women. All these factors play a significant role in the workplace and staff and leaders have to be cognizant of them. I believe the most significant in this relationship is the ever-changing economy, especially with the onset of the Affordable Care Act. The economy has been in a recession, and many organizations have had to cut their budgets to stay afloat. Personnel have been laid off, they have quit their jobs in healthcare to find a more stable job field, and providers have additional regulations that in turn change their practices. Healthcare is still appealing and a necessity, but the demands are becoming more and more stressful on employees. You absolutely need loyalty and managers and leaders can control it but they cannot control the economy hence why I believe it is more significant. You can’t control the difference in generations, but you can understand the differences and change the leadership style to accommodate those gaps. You cannot control the economy and it can drive substantial decisions that can be unfavorable * From in the e-Activity, determine how well the health care organization you found is addressing the factor you identified in the first part of this discussion. Discuss additional steps the organization could take to do a better job. Samaritan Medical Center is the largest hospital in the Watertown, New York area. It is a 294-bed community medical center. In order to retain their current employees Samaritan Full-time employees are eligible to participate after six months of employment and may be reimbursed up to $3,000 annually for tuition assistance. Part-time employees are eligible to participate after one year of service and may be reimbursed up to $1,500 annually. They offer 401(k) Retirement Benefit + Employer Match, RN, LPN, Tech Retirement and 403 (b) retirement plans. They offer paid time off and also the following other benefits: * Employee Referral Quit for Life Smoking Cessation * Employee Fitness Rebate * Aflac Cancer Coverage * Cafeteria and Gift Shop Discounts * Over the Counter Pharmaceutical Discounts * Employee Assistance Program (ESP) They also offer the following insurances for all employees: * Medical Insurance * Dental Insurance * Vision Insurance * Life Insurance * Accidental Death and Disme mberment Insurance * Short Term and Long Term Disability * Medical and Dependent Care Spending Accounts This hospital also recognizes that employees are happy when they continuously learn and grow in their jobs. They offer a professional development program as well. I think that this hospital does a terrific job at concentrating on all areas of incentives and purpose for their employees to retain the best qualified personnel. â€Å"Samaritan recognizes the importance of investing in their leaders with ongoing management training. Excel IV will assist leaders of all levels in developing greater efficiency through increased managerial competence. Excel IV focuses on the following Leadership Competencies: Communicating with Impact, Building a Successful Team, Facilitating Change, and Aligning Individual and Team Performance† (Samaritan Medical Center, 2013). References: http://www. samaritanhealth. com/join-our-team/why-choose-samaritan/professional-development ince the textbook indicated Griffin Hospital located in Derby, CT at number three on list of small companies in the Fortune magazine as one of the best companies to work for 10 years consecutively, I decided to look up this company on the internet. At Griffin Hospital, every employee is a caregiver and every employee makes a difference. We understand that employee satisfaction leads to patient satisfaction. Our culture of teamwork, professionalism, and respect makes Griffin Hospital a place where both patients and employees want to be. Griffin Hospital was named to  FORTUNE Magazines 100 Best Companies to Work for in America  list for ten consecutive years and our management team has been nationally recognized for listening and responding to employee feedback. Also looking at the hospital, they give recognition and much gratification to their employees for all their hard work and dedication by having an awards program. They also offer bonuses to their employees. I would suggest having a flexible schedule if possible but the hospital appears to offer an array of great benefits and compensation to their employees which is why the rank so highly in the Fortune. And this a highlight that has taken place at the hospital to turn things around according the CEO, â€Å"We surveyed all of our departments, and the one that came out worst was our obstetrics. In fact it was so bad an outside consultant suggested we close it. † What were the things he did to turn around the obstetrics department? We turned the traditional maternity unit on its head. We created a welcoming, home like environment for women, but it was really based on empowerment and information. First of all we moved to all private rooms. We installed a Jacuzzi in our maternity ward to help relieve pain early in a woman’s labor. We also embraced the whole family in the birthing experience by having specially designed double beds put into private rooms so the husband could sta y with his wife from start to when the three of them could leave. In the past the husbands were relegated to the proverbial waiting room. So our approach to vastly changing our obstetrics department was the start of the transformation of Griffin. † From that auspicious beginning, Pat Charmel has raised the profile and patient centric care to one of the highest in the nation. It has won numerous awards for their approach, including awards for their nursing staff and the NAACP for their diversity program. References: http://www. griffinhealth. org/About-Us/Careers-Volunteers. aspx   http://blog. istage. com/ceo-tv-show/pat-charmel-ceo-of-griffin-hospital-explains-what-he-did-to-turn-around-the-hospital The health care organization I chose is a local healthcare organization-Saint Francis Medical Center; I believe they facilitate employee loyalty because on their website numerous references are made where they address employees as being family and the benefits of employment page offers various healthcare programs, continued education savings, a nd reimbursement plans, and savings and annuity plans. Additional steps I believe additional steps the organization could take to do a better job are by following the Richard Branson method of celebrating employees. His business meetings often consist of employees meeting for lunch at his home, entire department vacations, and inter-office costumed events. I believe all organizations should follow this method. http://positivesharing. com/2011/09/richard-branson-celebrates-employees/ Baptist Health System (BHS) has five acute hospitals and offers benefits to their employees to create loyalty. BHS is committed to providing a stable, rewarding and generously incentivized relationship with their employees and start every relationship with incentives in hopes of getting the highest level of performance from the very best people (baptisthealth. com, n. d. )  to better attract and retain employees. Some for their benefits include: health, dental and vision plans, flexible spending accounts, accident and life insurance, short and long term disability, paid time off (PTO), extended illness days (EID), and tuition reimbursement (baptisthealth. om, n. d. ). Beginning August, 2012, BHS no longer hires individuals who use nicotine products. They intend to provide healthy, smoke free environment for their employees. Employee loyalty provides a competitive advantage and is necessary for a successful business. If BHS goes above and beyond for its employees, it is likely the employees will do the same for BHS. BHS could promote and provide a culture of communication, flexible schedules , employee praise and respect, and birthday celebrations.

What It Means To Be A Great Power Politics Essay

What It Means To Be A Great Power Politics Essay Great Powers are the most powerful members in the international system. The idea of Great Power plays a significant role in the theory of international relations as any changes in the Great Powers strategies or emergence of new Great Powers normally alter the status quo. This essay began by examining the different criteria used by scholars to define Great Powers, following by my own definition of Great Powers to further discuss and illustrate my understanding of this concept. Today, China plays a new role in the international system, garnering increasing attention around the globe. Chinas economic strength and political clout are already influencing places beyond the Asia Pacific region. Africa, as a place in which Chinese engagement is expanding rapidly, can be used as a region to assess whether China is a Great Power or not. The second part of the essay analyses Chinas foreign policy towards Africa since the 1990s with attention to Chinas objectives there as well as the reactions of the African. Various aspects will be discussed, including Chinas political, economic, military presences and soft power to assess whether China is a Great power in Africa or not. II. Definition of Great Powers in the International System Scholarly definitions The traditional definition of great power can be found in the distinction made at the Paris Peace Conference, which suggested that great power is a state with a global scope of interests in the international arena  [1]  Throughout the years, the concept of great power has been conceptualized by a number of theoretical schools of international relations, for example, realism, liberal internationalism and constructivism. According to a prominent British historian Arnold Toynbee, great power can be defined as a political force exerting an effect coextensive with the widest range of the society in which it operates  [2]  , while one of the leading scholars of the international relations in 20th century, Martin Wight regards, great powers as powers with general interests, i.e. those whose interests are as wide as the state systems itself, which today means worldwide.  [3]  And for Professor Hedley Bull from the University of Oxford, great power contributes to international system by managing their relations with one another; and by exploiting their preponderance in such way as to import a degree of central direction to the affairs of international society as a whole.  [4]  I agree with these viewpoints that the ability to project influence and power beyond its region is a decisive factor for defining greatness. The concept of great power is a pivot in many realists international relations models, including the theory of hegemony, balance of power and the polarity in international system. According to a prominent Neo-realist scholar, Waltz Kenneth stated in his remarkably influential book, Theory of International Politics, the great powers extraordinary positions in the international system enable them to undertake tasks that other states have neither the incentive nor the ability to perform.  [5]   Some realist scholars argued that there is asymmetry of power within the international system. According to Krasner, when power asymmetries are high, the frequency of intervention increase.  [6]  He put forward the argument that a great power intervene the weaker states internal affairs by various norms, values and principles to justify and legitimize their actions. They sometimes violate those values and principles, but themselves stay free from external interference.  [7]   Another realist scholar, Leurdijk also suggested that the international system is in hierarchical relations- relations of dominance and subordination.  [8]  That means, the great powers are those who dominant over the subordinated countries. Therefore, from this perspective, a great power is a state which has more state sovereignty and autonomy it can claim, and it is subject to less external intervention.  [9]  Also, a great power is able to enforce the rule of international law. Meanwhile, contemporary international law incorporates broader ideas more than the rule of non-intervention. According to Khachikian from Stanford University, it now embraces ideas of permissible intervention, such as enforcing international peace, protecting one nationals, preventing a spillover across state borders, stopping mass human suffering and others  [10]   Generally speaking, the traditional definitions of great power emphasize on the powers wide global interests in the international system, while some scholars consider great power as a state which possess the capacity to exercise influence within the international system. From this perspective, great powers are able to intervene their targets of intervention and not being a target of intervention by other actors in the international system. To conclude, we may say that the former viewpoint stress on goal and interests while the latter on put emphasis on capability and influence. Both of the concepts are able to provide us a general view. And it is true that a great power should be a state playing active role in the international system and possess the ability to influence on the region it interested in. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that the definition of Great Power should also be something more specific and concrete. There need to be a standard unit of account for measuring political power. In this essay, I will assess a countrys power through various defining elements, for example, its geographic base, economic resources, educational and technical level, military potential etc. Great Power in a more tangible sense To be a great power in international system, the nation has to possess not only economic prosperity and military might, but also strong soft power and identity as a leader. In this essay, economic strength refers to the level of development. For soft power, strong cultural ties with other countries, moral strength and technological level should be considered. Identity as a leader refers to the bargaining power in international arena and the ability to take action independently and at the same time, plays an active and co-operative role in the international system. Economic strength Economic strength cannot merely assessed by the size of the economy, but also to what extent, the economy is developed. From my perspective, a great power must be economically developed. Economic development used here includes several meanings: First, the growth of national income (measured by the Gross National Product) or the output of goods and services per head of population. Second, the increase in ability of a society to produce goods and services and to satisfy wants. However, If we consider development as a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy,  [11]  as what Professor Amartya Sen put forward, then one can argue that economic development as a process of expanding the economic freedoms that people enjoy. Apart from monetary value, economic security, living standards, life expectancy, and social welfare like education and health services should also be considered. Therefore, internally within a Great power, people should enjoy the rights to sell and purchase the goods at equilibrium prices provided by a competitive environment which the movement of labor and capital is fr ee. Also, it should be structurally strong in the industrial, financial and technological sectors. Economic growth is often the greatest source of global influence. Nevertheless, high-level of economically developed is just a criterion for being a Great Power. For a Great Power in International System, the country should accept and adapt to the rules of games in the international system. Economically, the country has to cooperate with other leading economies in overcoming obstacles to world trade, being an active part of the international market. Military strength Military strength is a significant factor of a countrys power projection capacity. Military strength of a certain country is usually measured by military expenditure, defense spending, number of military personnel and aircraft carrier, size of navy, etc. However, we should not neglect the level of military technology in assessing a countries power. The arm force of a Great Power should be a modernized one. Furthermore, to be a Great power in international system, the state has to maintain frequent high-level dialogue regarding strategic matters with other actors within the international system. Soft power and identity as a leader The concept of Soft Power is invented by Harvard University political scientist Joseph Nye, he stated that soft power rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others.  [12]  From my point of view, this idea embraces cultural factors, educational level, reputation of the state, etc. The higher the level of soft power, the higher the countrys ability to achieve their objectives in their targeted region, therefore, it is a crucial criteria for being a great power. National image is something intangible but important for a nation to portray itself as a great power. Stability of political and social systems, cultural interactions with other countries, active participation and contributions to world peace are all related to how the country is seen by the outside world. Having respect and prestige, it does not only help the state to overcome its internal problems, but also convince the targeted region that their actions are legitimized. A great power must be able to influence on the region you interested in, at the same time, that region welcome your influence and engagement. As soft power is a key factor for achieving international objectives and legitimizing actions, we should take it into account when assessing a countrys greatness. Furthermore, the state identity as a leader is also a decisive factor. A great power is a state which has bargaining power in international arena and the ability to take action independently. Independent does not mean refusal to bring itself in line with the international system, but referring to not being the target of intervention by other powers. And the identity as a leader also refers to active and co-operative role in the international system. My definition for Great Power is a combination of tangible and intangible elements. To conclude, a great power is an active player in the international arena with strong economic, military strength and soft power, while having interests and capacity to project its influence to places beyond its region. At the same time, the targeted place welcomes its influence. III. Is China a Great Power in Africa? Chinas rapidly increasing engagement in Africa is virtually rooted in her remarkable rise as a global power. With greater involvement into African market in the form of development assistance, trade and investment, together with some level of military cooperation, peacekeeping and employment of soft power, China has emerged as a key-player in Africa. The expansiveness of her activities has gone beyond the Western engagement that came before her in the region and her engagement became one of the most significant developments for Africa in recent years. Through playing an active and positive role in Africa, China has built up her benign image and Great Power status in the world. This part of the paper analyses Chinas foreign policy towards Africa since the early 1990s to discuss whether China is a Great power in Africa or not. As mentioned in the first part of this research paper, one of the criteria to be a Great power is the ability to influence on the region you interested, at the same time, your influence and intervention are welcomed by the region. Therefore, the second part of this paper examines the objectives underlying Chinese foreign policy towards Africa and discusses whether China is successful in achieving those objectives. Chinas involvement on the African continent will be reviewed from various levels, including economic engagement, political presence, military ties and the projection of soft power. It argues that the impressive scale and scope of Chinas engagement together with the positive reactions from African countries to Chinas expanding presence proved China to be a Great Power in Africa. Chinas Objectives in Africa Chinas rapidly expanding engagement in Africa is actually part of its transformation of the foreign policy to a more active one. Chinese objectives in Africa basically include, access to natural resources, export markets,  [13]  projecting her influence beyond the Asia-Pacific region and thus strengthening Chinas status as a Great Power. Facing fierce criticism from the West after the Tiananmen Incident in 1989, China started to establish closer ties with non-Western countries.  [14]  Since African states constitute a massive voting clout as they occupied over one-fourth of the seats in United Nations General Assembly, China can be benefited from developing cordial relations with them. In the 1990s, China greatly increased her assistance to developing countries, especially to African countries.  [15]   China helped African states overcome their tremendous poverty, boosting the African economic through comprehensive investment and development in the region. Beside economic sphere, Chinas contribution in United Nation peacekeeping and continued training and educational assistance reflects Chinas significant role in Africa that it can be conceived as a Great Power in the region. Chinas Political presence in Africa The beginning of the relations between China and Africa can be dated back to the voyages of Zheng He (1372-1433) in the Ming dynasty, while some scholars regarded the Bandung Conference of 1955 marked the real start of Africa-China relations.  [16]  The momentum of closer ties greatly accelerated throughout the last 10 years. Their closer relationships signalized by frequent high-level diplomatic trips by Chinese leaders to African capitals and frequent high-level diplomatic trips by African leaders to Beijing.  [17]  In 2006 there were 48 African states heads gathered in Beijing for the Forums on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which marked the largest gathering of African top political leaders outside of the United Nations (UN).  [18]   Besides, there are rapid establishment of African and Chinese migrant communities in both China and Africa. In addition to governmental level interactions, continuing increase in interactions between ordinary Africans and Chinese can also be seen within their relationship.  [19]   The first part of this paper has mentioned that we may assess a country is a Great Power or not from a geographical perspective. Through this perspective, Chinas engagement in Africa is broad enough as a Great Power because it maintains official diplomatic relations with 48 African countries out of the total number of 53.  [20]  Several events reflected African support to China, for example, they supported Beijing to be the host city for 2008 Olympic Games during the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision-making process. Also, Africa supported Chinas One-China policy and helped prevent Taiwan from getting a seat in United Nations many times.  [21]   Moreover, China is actively participating in the affairs of the African Union (AU). China promised $100-$150 million for constructing permanent headquarters and attended African Union summits in 2006 and 2007.  [22]  Chinas governments assistance has been appreciated by Africa. Jean Ping, the chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, commended China in January 2009 for her contributions to Africa and identified China as Africas key strategic partner.  [23]  He also expressed that the African Union would like to boost consultation and cooperation with China on the regional and international affairs.  [24]   Different from the European great powers in the 19th century, China did not send her troops to Africa to fight wars and depriving the African aborigine. Rather, China has demonstrated effort for keeping peace without appearing military threat. According to Xinhua News Agency in 2007, a total of 1,400 Chinese troops are taking part in separate UN peacekeeping operations in seven African countries, including Sudan, where 415 Chinese peacekeepers are deployed in the south.  [25]  The number of military personnel deployed by China in peacekeeping operations in Africa exceeds those of other permanent members of the UN Security Council, making China the largest contributor of all. Furthermore, China provides financial support to the African Union regarding the peacekeeping in Somalia and Darfur.  [26]   Politically, China has a strong presence and influence in Africa. China also plays an active and constructive role in peacekeeping activities in Africa. At the same time, Chinas role has been highly recognized by the African countries. For example, the top official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia commended that, never in modern history has a nation successfully made such a determined and massive effort as China has in achieving progress within such a short span of time. Ethiopia has been following this remarkable achievement with great interest and admiration.  [27]  As mentioned above, a Great Power able to influence the region at the same the region welcomes your influence. From this perspective, China is qualified as a Great Power in Africa. Chinas Military Presence in Africa For arm sales to Africa, China ranked the third from 2003 to 2006.  [28]  Although Chinas military ties with Africa are not as strong as political and economic ties, to some African states, military cooperation with China is extremely crucial. Especially for those countries under civil wars but that came under military embargo from the west, for example, Sudan and Zimbabwe. China has established some small arm factories in Sudan and Uganda, producing light weaponry for the region. Besides, in 2005 and 2006, Nigeria purchased missiles and fighter jets from China and in turns, awarded oil contracts to China.  [29]   In fact, China maintains security and military relations with all African countries except those four countries diplomatically recognize Taiwan. In this sense, China maintains a great military presence in the region. Also, its armament sales and peacekeeping activities have the capacity to alter the political situation in Africa. Chinas major objectives in Africa are getting natural resources and maintaining economic interests. And she is able to achieve her goals through providing the military resources to persuade African countries to help her. To counter the American presence in Africa, China will continue to expand its military ties with African countries, at the same time, making contributions to the United States peacekeeping in the region. Chinas steps will further enhance her Great Power status in Africa. Chinas Economic Presence in Africa The volume of China-Africa trade in recent years increased dramatically, from $8.92 billion in 2001 to $40 billion dollars in 2005, $73 billion in 2007, and reached $106.8 billion in 2008. China is now, overtaking Britain and France, became Africas second largest trading partner after the United States.  [30]  31 China has extended scope of duty-free imports from Africa from 190 to 440 items and is discussing with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) for proposing a free-trade agreement between them.  [32]  African countries greatly appreciated Chinas removal of tariffs on goods as they have been benefited from Chinas action.  [33]   In 2001, Hu Jintao called for Chinese enterprises to go global. Key State Owned Enterprises have begun to set up joint ventures in extractive industries in Africa.  [34]  In 2005, China had already established over 800 enterprises in Africa region.  [35]  In 2009, Chinese investments by both the government and private enterprise in Africa almost tripled in value compared to the figures in 2000.  [36]   Between 2000 and 2003, China provided $1.3billion in debt relief to 27 African countries and an additional $1.2 billion in debt cancellation for 33 African countries in 2006.  [37]  In addition, China has provided considerable amount of development aid, in the form of low-interest loans, to African countries. China provided $13 billion to Angola, $9 billion to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and $2.5 billion to Ethiopia as well.  [38]   Additionally, China is the members of African Development Bank Group (AfDB), African Development Fund (ADF) and West African Development Bank (WADB). China contributed to the Banks institutional activities, and technical assistance operations to promote economic and social development in Africa. China hosted the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the AfDB and the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the ADF in Shanghai in May 2007.  [39]  Besides, China is engaging actively into the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the South African Development Community (SADC).  [40]  All these reflected Chinas pivotal role in Africa. With ongoing economic and trade cooperation and exchange, we can see that China presence in Africa keeps rapidly growing and China has capability to influence events in the region. As African countries are yearning for an alternative to the West that they have relied on over a long period of time, they are in need of Chinese investment and assistance to help develop their economies. Unlike the Western donors who tend to impose Western values like democratic ideas on Africa, China invest and provide aid without much preconditions and interference in their internal affairs, therefore, it is not unimaginable that China is regarded by Africa as a more cooperative and valuable partner to the West. Besides providing loans, China also invest in infrastructure development and many high-visibility projects, that the African leaders generally in favor. Physical infrastructure constructions have been long neglected if not avoided by Western donors.  [41]  Also, Chinese investors are highly reputed by the African of their rapid completion of infrastructures with acceptable qualities.  [42]  Moreover, the General populace in Africa prefers physical infrastructure to monetary aid as the aid money would eventually be manipulated by corrupt leaders. Through providing more practical help, Chinas influence and presence in Africa are further strengthened. Nevertheless, some argue that there are also many complications for China to expand her presence in Africa. The biggest obstacle is the anti-Chinese sentiment resulting from the flooding of cheaper Chinese manufactured goods in African markets. The Chinese firms underbid many local firms in Africa, causing close down of factories and unemployment. However, we should not neglect that import of cheaper goods from China means that the African can buy many goods that they could not afford to purchase before. And the Chinese investment projects at least created some new job opportunities for the Africans. All these actually have improved the living standards of many general Africans. Nowadays, China has already constituted a pivotal part in the African economy. Although the Africans may consider Chinese engagement as a challenge as they worry about Chinas growing global power may turn her role in African to become as stifling as they have experienced with the west  [43]  , generally, they need Chinas participation and the African leaders today consider Chinese embrace as not only a source of investment, but also a chance as well as a counterbalance to the West. Soft power To access a country is a Great power or not, we do not only consider its influence over their targeted regions through economic and military power, but also the influence through soft power. When examining Chinas power in Africa, its projection of soft power should not be neglected. As mentioned in the first part of this paper, soft power rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others  [44]  In this paper, Chinas soft power policy refers to the use of cultural, educational means to boost her image and thus to influence public opinion and persuade nations abroad in Chinas favour. The establishment of Confucius Institutes and the recruitment of international students are prominent forms of Chinese projection of soft power. China has already set up more than 20 Confucius Institutes throughout Africa, teaching African people Mandarin, Chinese history and culture.  [45]   China has educational relationships with 50 African countries and keeps increasing her assistance on training and education to African countries. In 2005, China also hosted the Sino-African Education Minister Forum.  [46]  In 2007, there are around 5,900 students from Africa studying in China, with most of them receiving scholarships provided by the Chinese government.  [47]  The Chinese government also promised to double the number of such scholarships by 2011,  [48]  and establish 10 agricultural technology centers in Africa.  [49]  Every year, China trained large number of African professionals in fields of agriculture, education, medical science, etc. Besides, Chinas state-run Xinhua news agency also trains African journalists in both Africa and China.  [50]   Chinas use of education, technical training and cultural exchange as a channel of employing soft power is successful in boosting Chinas image in Africa and thus expanding its global influence. The projection of soft power can essentially gain the support from the general public in Africa. With closer and closer educational relationships, the future generations and educated elites in Africa will certainly have better understanding about China. Having support from governments, and non-governmental actors, including both educated elites and general populace, China gained legitimacy as a Great Power. IV. Conclusion My definition of great power as mentioned in the first part of the essay, is an active player in the international arena with strong econ