Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Media plan for Nescafe in the United Kingdom Essay

Media plan for Nescafe in the United Kingdom - Essay Example First, the company’s promotional message will be explored to establish the quality of content in Nescafà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s advertising campaign. Second, each identified advertising medium will specify how the advertisements will be implemented. Lastly, the cost of implementation and challenges to the campaign will be discussed as an overview of the plan. As currently stated on their website, Nescafà © UK is launching a worldwide campaign to promote responsible farming, production, and consumption. In this effect, Nescafà © wants to push the message of not only providing the best coffee in a cup, but also to â€Å"go beyond the cup†. With this, it is important that the message for the campaign will focus on this particularly tagline to show the uniformity in concept of the entire campaign message. As such, the theme, â€Å"go beyond the cup†, should represent these three areas which Nescafà © currently puts its focus on. Mixed media advertising means equally utilizing both the traditional and modern media for product promotion. With today’s technology-driven society, Nescafà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s mixed media plan will include the use of internet in targeting young consumers (aged 18 - 45 years old) who mostly subscribe to modern forms of communication. On the other hand, Nescafà © will also continue placing advertisements to radio, print, and television because it recognizes the fact that these traditional forms of media, given their significance in advertising, will become more effective if it is integrated by the new media. Advertisements in print, radio, and television remain a competitive form of product promotion because it gives lasting impression to consumers and establishes a stronger brand identity. Because of this, Nescafà © will showcase in TV, print, and radio advertisements in major broadcast networks in the UK. First, Nescafà © will tap two television companies, ITV2 and SKY1, to showcase the advertisements of the company. These TV networks contain

Monday, October 14, 2019

Two or More Theories of the Formation of Romantic Relationships Essay Example for Free

Two or More Theories of the Formation of Romantic Relationships Essay One theory of the formation of a romantic relationship is one put forward by Byrne and Clore called the reward/need satisfaction model. They suggested that we have relationships long term because we find them rewarding, or we don’t like the prospect of being alone. The rewards from a partner can include friendship, love and sex, or the particular person is associated with pleasant situations so then we want to spend time with them and form a romantic relationship. This can also include the satisfaction from a relationship with a person of high social status, as it would make you look good to other people. These needs can differ from person to person as to what is important. Rusbolt and Van Lange argue that rewards are important as when you do not know someone well communication can start on a ‘tit-for-tat’ basis with favours that can lead to more conversation and rewards. This was called by Clark and Mills and ‘exchange relationship’ as a relationship like this goes on it can turn to a ‘Communal relationship’ where rewards are given as a result of concern for a partner which can be an important aspect of forming a close relationship. May and Hamilton tested the good association part of the theory by getting groups of female students to look at pictures of male students and say if they like the look of them or not. One group looked at the pictures while pleasant music was being played, another group looked while unpleasant music was being played and a control group looked with no music. As predicted the group with pleasant music rated the male students the highest. This model may be very culturally bound as all the studies done were in the western world’s individualistic cultures. In other cultures one partner may not expect rewards and may be entirely giving, or arranges marriages will also go against this theory as the long term is made to happen. It suggests that these relationships are likely to be formed where partners meet each other’s needs even though they have different views about when this becomes important. It is argued that long-term happy relationships have needs met while unhappy ones have unmet needs, this was said by Smith and Mackie Another theory is the Filter Model proposed by Kerchoff and Davis; they say that relationships develop through three ‘filters’. It starts with the ‘field of availables’ which are people available for a relationship where we then filter out different partners for different reasons, so it narrows down to a ‘field of desirables’ who are the people we consider as a potential partner. The first filter involves the social model where we choose people without being aware by where they live, work, have been educated or their social class. With individual characteristics not being important at this point. Then there is similarity of attitudes and values, where a partner’s beliefs and ideas come into effect. This is where communication is easier and the relationship can progress, however if beliefs and views are very different then the relationship may not move from its current position. The final filter is the emotional needs, which is whether the people fit as a couple and can meet each other’s needs. Kerchoff and Davis used their model to do a study on students who had been together for more than or less than 18 months. They were asked to complete questionnaires over 7 months on attitudes and personality of their partners compared to theirs; it was found that this was important in relationships up to around 18 months, whereas after this psychological compatibility and ability to meet each other’s needs becomes more important supporting the filter model. However questionnaires can have bias as participants may want to shows themselves in the best light thus skewing the results, also all the participants were students so age difference in relationships was not accounted for. The filter model emphasizes the importance of demographic factors and attitudes as ‘filters’ in the development of relationships. Sprecher found that couples matched in physical attractiveness, interests and social background were more likely to develop a relationship that is long-term. Found due to his longitudinal study of couples over 21 years and found similar education and age at the start of the relationship at the start were more likely to stay together. They also gained more similar attitudes as time went on. The filter theory is also very culturally biased as other cultures ways of choosing a mate may not have anything to do with the mentioned factors due to a collectivist nature of the culture or any other differences. There is also the problem that this model generalises to every couple where there will instead be many individual differences between choices of partners.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Traits Theory Of Leadership Management Essay

Traits Theory Of Leadership Management Essay Early research by Burns (1978) concluded that leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth (Burns, 1978). To enhance our understanding of leadership this chapter will critically review the early theories of leadership to current leadership research on transformational and transactional leadership style. It will also discuss how the current findings on leadership are likely to impact the commitment of members in National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE). 2.0 Leadership Leadership has become a hot topic with a burgeoning but fragmented literature in the past few years that draws on both the arts and the sciences. So far there is no agreed paradigm for the study and practice of leadership. The concept of leadership has seized the attention and concern of many researchers in the field of management, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and others in the last century. Such a concern is due to the important roles leaders play in facilitating organizational effectiveness and performance through their behaviors or styles they exhibit and competencies they posses. Indeed, in this context, one measure organizational effectiveness is members commitment (Meyer et al., 2002). It is the contention that the present study is conducted to determine how leadership style affects commitment amongst employees at work. So, what is leadership? The concept of leadership has been defined differently by scholars in terms of the emphasis on leaders traits, influence, competencies, individual vs., and group orientation and cognitive vs. emotional orientations. Burns (1978) defines leadership as a mobilization process by individuals with certain motives, values and access to resources in a context of competition and conflict in the pursuit of goals. More recently, Nigel Nicholson speaks of leadership as either a position or a process (Bradshaw, 2002). If a process, he says, it is about influencing other people, and this requires knowing oneself, knowing those other people, and knowing how to influence them. In order to understand how leadership is conceptualized, it is necessary to look at the leadership styles and variety of leadership theories developed, as follows. Traits Theory of Leadership Trait theories on leadership started in the twentieth century and formal theories on leadership were given by sociologists, experts in human behavior and psychologists. The researchers from 1920s to 1960s focused on the personality of leader and tried to find some traits as the basic of successful leadership (Adair, 1984). Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) cultivated the theory of leadership for the first time for leading in the formal organizations. His basic idea was to increase output by using scientific parameter. According to Bass (1990), successful leadership is determined by factors classified into six groups: achievement, responsibility, capacity, participation and situation. He also claimed that leaders are born but no made. The main assumptions of trait theory are the (a) the common features that characterize are considered as the criteria to define the suitability and successfulness of leadership; (b) an effective leader inherits and learns his/her traits, and (c) leaders are born and not made. To test the traits theory, Gordon (1987) carried out a study to define the relationship between characteristics of personality and leadership. He found a significant relationship between the ability of taking responsibility and leadership. He further found a weak but positive relationship between intelligence, authority and intelligence, and leadership. In a different study to illustrate the differences between leaders and non-leaders in terms of their personalities and traits, Beer et al. (1990) found that leaders were identified as being serious, self-dependent, confident of their competencies, best decision makers, and reasonable in expressing thoughts. They also revealed that leaders are characterized by being able to take responsibility, are self motivated, more persuasive, more capable in influencing others, more energetic, and more diplomatic. Stogdill (1974) carried out a survey of the factorial studies between 1945 and 1970 to define the main features of a leader. He found that leadership traits are defined into six main types: corporal traits, social background, intelligence, capability, personality traits, relevant to task, and social features. The results also showed that an effective leader has skills such as social and personality skills, technical skills, managerial skills, intellectual skills, friendship-achievements skills, being supportive for team work, and being defensive towards work. Situational Theories of Leadership Situational theories appeared as a reaction to the trait theory of leadership. Situational Leadership Theory Ability level of the officer High 5 4 3 2 1 Delegating Supporting Coaching Directing Willingness level of the officer Low High Low 1 2 3 4 5 The Situational Leadership Theory suggests that effective leadership requires both acts of leadership and management. Depending on the level of each of these acts necessary, four different styles of leadership can be utilized. These are delegating, coaching, directing, and supporting. For a leader to be purposeful in their direction, they must use the correct style by being able to evaluate a followers readiness level. In other words, they must meet a follower where they are. Fiedler Contingency Model Functional theory 2.3 Early Description of Relation- Oriented and Task-Oriented Leadership Behavior The study of leadership has an important place in the study of management and organization behavior for several decades. There is no other role in organization has been focused more interest than the leader (SchwandtMarquardt, 2000). The early study of leadership behavior separate those behaviors into relation-oriented and task oriented leadership. Relations-oriented leadership focuses on the quality of the relationship with followers, whereas task oriented leadership focus on the task to be accomplished by followers (Bass, 1990). Researchers have used various terms to describe relations-oriented and task oriented leadership behaviors. Bass (1990) provides an overview of terms used by several researchers. For example, descriptions of relations-oriented leadership behaviors have included participatory decision making (Ouchi, 1981), supportive (Bowers Seashore,1966), concern for people (Blake Mouton,1964), emphasizing employee needs(Fleishman,1957), people centered (Anderson,1974) and leadership (Zaleznik,1977). For both types of leadership behaviors, the most recent descriptions came from Bass Avolio (1995, 1997). They describe relations-oriented behaviors as Idealized Influence (attributed), Idealized Influence (behavior), Individualized Consideration, Intellectual Stimulation and Inspirational Motivation. Their task-oriented description include contingent reward, management-by-exception (active) and management-by-exception (passive) Burns (1978) comprehensive theory formed the foundation for Basss (1985) transformational-transactional differentiation which has become considerable importance in the study of leadership in organization. 2.4 Transactional and Transformational Leadership Leadership style is defined as a pattern of emphases, indexed by the frequency or intensity of specific leadership behaviors or attitudes, which a leader places on the different leadership functions (Casimir, 2001). Theorists have come up with various leadership styles, namely autocratic leadership, transactional leadership, transformational leadership, and servant leadership. Some have been widely studied of by researchers and their effects on organizations have been established. Transformational leadership is one of the leadership styles that have been studied and its relationships with various elements in management have been established. Transformational leadership is a style of leadership whereby a leader can motivate a subordinate to perform above and beyond what he or she had previously believed possible (Bass, 1985). A study performed by Parry (2003) in public sector organizations found that transformational leadership style has a positive effect on the innovation and effectiveness of these organizations. According to Bass Avolio(1995), transactional leadership refers to an influence process to exchange valued rewards for performance. Thus, transactional leadership embraces based exchange relationship. The leader promotes uniformity by providing extrinsic (positive or negative) reward to the collaborators (Cardona, 2000). Transactional leadership encompasses fairly traditional managerial styles where managers or leaders gain compliance and performance by either offering rewards or punishing deviations from standards. This is the pattern of leadership prevalent in most organizations and organizational situations because it contains a basic mechanism of exchange relations which becomes possible when there is no outstanding sense of impeding threat or anxiety. Bass (1985) conceptualized transformational leaders as unique motivators who encourage follower to go beyond their believed capabilities in pursuit of a shared, common goal. Transformational leaders are concerned about efficiency and the achievement of organization goal. They do so with a focus in supporting staff emotionally and intellectually. Basss initial views, characterized transformational leadership as the ability to elicit support and participation from followers through personal qualities. The significance of transactional and transformational leadership has been elaborated in the Full Range of Leadership Model (Avolio and Bass,1991) 2.5 The Full Range Leadership Model The full range leadership model is probably the most validated leadership model in use world-wide today. The originality of the full range leadership (FRL) model lies in the concept of a range of leadership behaviors which all leaders demonstrate. This model required a change for a balanced leadership behavior whereby moves away from the more transactional leadership towards the transformational leadership style. Bass (1999) was the one of the researcher to argue for a transformational style of leadership to transactional forms. Scholars have studied the full range leadership model (FRL) as a predictor of a variety of outcomes in organizations such as employees commitment, employee satisfaction, motivation, organizational effectiveness and performance. (Base and Stogdill, 1990; Barbuto et al., 2007) The Full Range Model describes three main types of leadership behavior to transformational behavior ranging from completely inactive (laissez-faire) to transactional behaviors to transformational behaviors. Thus, transactional and transformational leadership are seen to be in a continuum rather than being mutually exclusive (Yammarino, 1993; Bass and Avolio, 1994). According to Base and Avolio(1995) Laissez-faire is non leadership behaviors that imply the leaders indifference towards both followers actions and organizational outcomes, as well as demonstrating an attitude of abdicating responsibility (to make decisions, or address important issues). The laissez-faire leader, who is also referred to as non transactional is characterized by a relative lack of concern for his subordinates (Bass and Riggio, 2006). The Full Range Leadership (FRL) Model consists of three transactional leader characteristics. Contingent Reward Contingent reward is the classical transactional leadership style. Here the leader sets very clear goals, objectives and targets and clarifies, either openly or by inference, what rewards can be expected for successful completion. Contingent reward leaders are found to be reasonably effective, although not as much as the five Is in transformational leadership for motivating others to achieve higher levels of performance. These leaders assign agreements on what needs to be done and promise rewards or actually reward followers for satisfactory carrying out the assignment. Management by Exception (passive) Management by exception (passive) refers to the process of paying attention to the exceptional rather than the normal. Thus management by exception leaders tend to be relatively laissez-faire under normal circumstances but take action when problem occur, mistakes are made or deviation from standards are apparent. Leaders wait passively for deviances and errors to occur and then take corrective action (Avolio and Bass,1991) Management by Exception (active) Management by exception (active) leaders is found to be less effective than contingent reward leaders but is still required in certain situations. They arrange to actively to actively monitor deviances from standards, mistakes and errors in the followers assignments and to take corrective action as necessary. The leader pays very close attention to any problem or deviations and has extensive and accurate monitoring and control system to provide early warnings of such problems. In the Full Range Leadership (FRL) Model, Bass (1998) divided transformational leadership into four scales. Idealized Influence Idealized Influence is often associated with charismatic leadership (e.g Shamir et.al., 1993; Yulk,1999). Leaders portraying idealized influence attributes have the socialized charisma (Avolio and Bass, 2002). They are perceived as being confident and powerful, and viewed as focusing on higher-order ideals and ethics. Such leaders are often seen as being high on morality, trust, integrity, honesty and purpose. House and Shamir (1993) have said that charismatic leaders demonstrate determination, optimism, and confidence in them to accomplish the mission and realize the vision. For example, Dr Martin Luther King inspired people through his oratorical skills in the face of unpromising resistance. Leaders who exert idealized influence behave in ways that demonstrate high standards of ethical and moral conduct (Bass, 1998). Idealized influence is behavior that encourages followers to use their leaders role model. Inspirational Motivation Inspirational Motivation involves communicating the vision to followers, fostering follower identification with the vision, focusing follower efforts, arousing their self awareness of higher goals and motivations and sustaining positive emotional arousal and identification with these goals (Bans, 1990).Inspirational motivation leaders motivate and inspire followers by providing meaning and challenge to work. These leaders engage followers in envisioning attractive future states and created communicated expectations that followers want to meet. Intellectual Stimulation Intellectual stimulation essentially involves the leader stimulating the follower to think through issues and problems for themselves and thus to develop their own abilities. This leadership approach reflects in large measure the coaching, morale building strengths of individualized consideration. Leaders stimulate followers effort to be innovative and creative by questioning assumptions, reframing problems and approaching old situations in new ways. New ideas and creativity problem solutions are solicited from followers who are included in the process of addressing problems and finding solutions. Individualized Consideration Individualized consideration includes mentoring, coaching, continuous feedback, and linking the individuals current needs to the organizations mission (Bass, 1990).leaders pay special attention to the needs of each individual follower for achievement and growth. Leaders who use this style of leadership show consideration for their workers need and are prepared to encourage and coach the development of appropriate workplace behavior. Individualized consideration leaders pay special attention to the needs of each individual follower for achievement and growth. Followers are developed to successively higher level of potential (Fukushige and Spicer, 2007) In the Full Range Leadership (FRL) Model, the transformational leader follower relationship is viewed as one of mutual stimulation (Barbuto, 1997). The influence of transformational leaders was distinguished on the hierarchical scale of moral development measured by Kohlbergs conceptualization (Popper et, al., 2002). This in more study also reports transformational leaders are classified as more morally advanced than transactional leaders. Figure 1: Full Range Leadership Model 1 PASSIVE ACTIVE Effective Transactional Laissez-faire Laissez-faire Transformational Leadership Management Figure 2: Full Range Leadership Model 2 Increase impact on commitment Laissez-faire Management-by-exception Contingent Reward Intellectual Stimulation Inspirational Motivation Idealized Influence Individualized consideration McGuire and Kennerly (2006) identifies the relationship between organizational leadership and members commitment in the literature since 1950s. McGuire and Kennerly states that transactional and transformational leadership style provides a framework for interaction that might affect the employees relationship, commitment, and work environment. The leadership style adopted by the leaders of National Union of Bank Employees(NUBE) will influence all the activities of union.(Naude and McCabe,2005). According to Bass (1990), transformational leaders demonstrated the four characteristics of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. Transformational leaders inspired others to improve performance, satisfied and achieved outcomes beyond expectations. McGuire and Kennerly (2006) reported increased loyalty, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and morale with transformational leaders compared with limited levels of job satisfaction and lower levels of organizational commitment with transactional leadership. Many studies involving the broad categories of transformational and transactional leadership behaviors, as well as specific behaviors within those categories have demonstrated that these behavior impact both individual and organizational effectiveness. Organizational commitment is a construct that explores effectiveness outcomes in similar areas. 2.6 Organizational Commitment Organizational commitment plays an important role in the study leadership. This is in part due to the number of works that have found relationships between organizational commitment and attitudes and behaviors in the workplace (Porter et al, 1974, Angle and Perry, 1981). Organizational commitment has linked to leadership behaviors that are relations-oriented and task-oriented. DeCotiisSummers(1987) found that when employees were treated with consideration they show greater level of commitment. Jermier Berkes (1979) discovered that employees who participate in decision making had higher levels of commitment to the organization. Organizational commitment provides a broad measure of the effectiveness of leadership behaviors. This relationship offers a way to further explore the subject of leadership. Bycio, Hackett, Allen (1995) reported positive correlations between the leadership behaviors of charisma, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, and contingent reward and affective, continuance and normative commitment. Studies suggest that committed workers contribute to the organization in more positive ways (Meyer and Allen,1997). 2.6.1 Definition of Commitment Organizational commitment has been defined differently by different scholars depending on their background. Multiple definitions of organizational commitment are found in the literature. However, Mowday et al (1979) defines organizational commitment as the relative strength of the identification of the individual and his involvement in his particular organization. According to this definition, organizational commitment has three basic components: A strong belief in and acceptance of the organizational goals and values(identification) A willingness to exert a considerable effort on behalf of the organization(involvement) A strong desire to remain with the organization. Sheldon (1971) defined commitment as being a positive evaluation of the organization and the organizational goals. According to Buchanan (1974) most scholars define commitment as being a bond between an individual (the employee) and the organization (the employer). In explaining the significance of organizational commitment, Bateman and Strasser(1984) state that the purpose of studying organizational commitment are related to (a) employees behavior and performance effectiveness, (b) attitudinal, affective and cognitive constructs such as job satisfaction, (c) characteristics of the employees job task, such as responsibility and (d) personal characteristics of the employee such as level of education. Commitment involves a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization and acceptance of the values and goals of the organization (Ingersoll et al., 2000). Organizational commitment is influenced by such factors as individuals and organizational characteristics (Angle and Perry, 1983). For example organizational members continued commitment towards an organization could be influenced by such factors as benefits, status, monetary and interpersonal rewards. 2.6.2 Three Types of Organizational Commitment Meyer and Allen (1991) and Dunham et al (1994) identified three types of commitment; affective commitment, continuance commitment, and normative commitment. The differences between these three types of commitment reflect the psychological state that binds the individual to the organization. They argued that the affective component is determined by work experiences relating to the job of the person and structural characteristics. Continuance is determined by the magnitude and number of investments that have been made in the current organization and the number of perceived alternatives. Lastly, the normative component is determined by an individuals experiences prior to entry and during employment in the organization in terms of familial, cultural and organizational socialization. Affective commitment is defined as the emotional attachment, identification, and involvement that an employee has with its organization and goals (Mowday et al., 1997, Meyer Allen, 1993). They further state that affective communication is when the employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals in order to maintain membership to facilitate the goal. Meyer and Allen (1997) continue to say that employees retain membership out of choice and this is their commitment to the organization. Continuance commitment is the willingness to remain in an organization because of the investment that the employee has with nontransferable investments. Nontransferable include things such as retirement, relationship with other employees, or things that are special to the organization (Reichers, 1985). Continuance commitment t also includes factors such as years of employment or benefits that the employee may receive that are unique to the organization (Reichers, 1985). Meyer and Allen (1997) further explain that employees who share continuance commitment with their employer often make it very difficult for an employee to leave the organization. Normative Commitment (Bolon, 1993) is the commitment that a person believes that they have to the organization or their feeling of obligation to their workplace. In 1982, Weiner discusses normative commitment as being a generalized value of loyalty and duty. Meyer and Allen (1991) supported this type of commitment prior to Bolons definition, with their definition of normative commitment being a feeling of obligation. Normative commitment can be explained by other commitments such as marriage, family, religion, and etc. Therefore when it comes to ones commitment to their place of employment they often feel like they have a moral obligation to the organization (Wiener, 1982). In arguing for their framework, Meyer Allen (1991) contended that affective, continuance, and normative commitment were components rather than types because employees could have varying degree of all three. For example, one employee might feel both a strong attachment to an organization and a sense of obligation to remain. A second employee might enjoy working for the organization but also recognize that leaving would be very difficult from an economic standpoint. Finally, a third employee might experience a considerable degree of desire, need and obligation to remain with the current employer (Meyer Allen, 1997). Even though the authors present this argument, they do not imply that there is a rationale for summing all the scales to obtain an overall score for organizational commitment. 2.6 Previous Studies Ooi Chai Liang(2002) has conducted a research to identify whether there is a significant relationship between transformational leadership style and commitment in the organization. Research sample consist of 35 employees under the supervision of supervisors in Hotel Mercure Ace,Johor Bharu. Results from this research have proven that when situational factor is taken into consideration, motivation does not show significant effect on the relationship between transformational leadership and commitment in the organization. Whereas, situational motivation factor act as a predictor to the commitment in the organization. Research result also shows that there is no significant relationship between transformational leadership and commitment in the organization. Tan Bee Hong (2000) has conduct a research to identify the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership style with job performance. Research sample consist of 282 employees of blue collar in Technocom System Sdn Bhd(TSSB), Johor Bahru. Statistical technique such as Pearson Correlation Analysis used to determine the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership style with job performance. Research result shows that there is a significant relationship between dimensions of transformational and transactional leadership style with job performance. Wee Kok Cheng (2000) carried out research to identify the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership with job satisfaction. The researcher has concluded that transformational leadership style show a greater relationship with job satisfaction compared to transactional leadership. The study has been conducted on 45 respondents who are nurses and assistant nurses. The purpose of the study is to identify the leadership styles and job satisfaction of nurses in the department of Hospital Daerah Mersing, Johor Bahru. Research result shows that there is a positive relationship between transformational and transactional leadership style with job satisfaction. There were two dimensions of transformational leadership (Idealized Influence and Intellectual Stimulation) which shows the highest significant relationship with job satisfaction. Othaman Mohd Yunus(1994) has conduct a research to study the effect of transformational and transactional leadership between organizational culture and inspiration of a police and job performance and work stress among Polis Diraja Malaysia. Findings of the study shows, in certain situation dimensions of transformational and transactional leadership style plays a moderate role especially in the relationship of PDRM cultures with performance and work stress. Liong (1990) has carried out research to identify the validity of the transformational leadership in a sample of principles and teachers who were selected from 90 secondary schools in Singapore. According to the researcher, principals and teachers who adopt the characteristics of transformational leadership shows high level of job satisfaction and commitment towards schools. Effectiveness of leadership is manifested indirectly through measuring the effectiveness of schools such as higher academic achievement in public examination and success in the field of curriculum. Wiener Vardi(1980) states the impact that organizational commitment had on commitment to the job and career commitment. Their respondents were 56 insurance agents and 85 professional staffs. The researcher reported positive relationship between organizational commitment and the other two types of commitment. In nine studies involving 2734 people, Dunham, Grube Castaneda (1994) examined how participatory management and supervisory feedback influenced employee level of commitment. The researcher founds found that when supervisors provided feedback about performance and allowed employees to participate in decision making, employee levels of affective commitment was stronger than both continuance and normative commitment. It indicated employees staying with the organization were more related to wanting to, rather than needing to or feeling they ought to. In the study of 238 nurses, Cohen (1996) investigated the relationship between affective, continuance and normative commitment and the following other types of commitment: work involvement, job involvement, and career commitment. Findings revealed that affective commitment was more highly correlated with all the other types of commitment. In other words, exhibit higher levels of commitment to their work, their job and their career. Irving, Coleman,Cooper(1997) investigated the relationship between affective, continuance, and normative commitment and the outcome measures of job satisfaction and turnover intervention. Total participants for the study included 232 employees. Results revealed that job satisfaction was positively related to both affective and normative commitment. However, job satisfaction was negatively related to continuance commitment. All three types of commitment were negatively related to turnover intentions, with continuance commitment having the strongest negative relationship. . 2.2 Leadership Styles(Intro)chap 1 Grint (2000) has underscored that a clear understanding of leadership requires an historical approach. He stresses that a particular leadership style during a process of change is time based and that every period has room for a limited palette of leadership qualities (Velde, 2002). A style organizes the pragmatic activity of a leader, indicates how his actions are coordinated and how things and people that matter are determined and changed (Spinosa et al., 2001). It has been argued that organizations beliefs, values and assumptions are of critical importance to the overall style of leadership that they adopt (Bunmi, 2007). Leadership style is the behavior pattern used by leader to resolve the organizational issues. There are several different leadership styles that can be identified in various leaders.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Kevin Mitnick :: Hacker Hackers Hacking Computers Essays

Kevin Mitnick Hacking has been around since the birth of computers. When the term hacking was first used, its meaning was not that of how we think of it today. At the origins of computing, a hacker was considered to be just a "creative programmer (Baase, 2003)." Early forms of computer games as well as the beginnings of operating systems were discovered and created by these original hackers. These hackers plunged into systems as a way of an intellectual challenge and to aspire to gain knowledge (Baase, 2003). Kevin Mitnick believes he falls into this realm of hackers. Hackers in today's era are now looked upon as criminals who invade the privacy rights of individuals and have the ability to deliver worms/viruses. The differences are that hackers today have full intentions of delivering terrible viruses and worms. Mitnick was one of the most infamous hackers during the 1980's. He molded his hacking style around the stupidity of humans and his quest for intellectual knowledge. The ways in which he w iggled his way into computer systems extenuates many of the issues surrounding computer security and privacy. Kevin Mitnick, "the worlds most notorious hacker" hacked into his first computer at the age of 16 when he hacked into Digital Equipment Corp. ( DEC) by phoning the company and claiming to be the lead developer of a new product (Weintraub, 2003). DEC then proceed to give him the passwords needed to hack into their system. Many of the jobs that Mitnick pulled exploited the ignorance of humans rather than the security software of the companies. Based on what he accomplished, he showed that a path can be made into a system without a computer or modem. This "social engineering", was Mitnick's forte. Mitnick tries to warn corporations now that "There is no patch for stupidity." (Mitnick, 2003) We are getting to an era in life were humans are not smart enough to run the machines they created. Someday computers may be run and created by other computers completely making humans obsolete in the realm of computer operation. This is a very scary thing to think about. When computers start having the ability to run themselves without human interference who knows what will happen. This is a fear that is embedded into the minds of many luddites. Where will this new technology end up? How far will it go before it destroys the integrity of life as it is now?

Friday, October 11, 2019

Discuss Media Influences On Prosocial Behaviour Essay

Pro-social behaviours are actions which aim to help others. For example, helping, sharing and caring for others. It seems as though the media can have a positive effect on individuals. It can have an influence on pro-social behaviour, and there are different explanations which help us to understand how the media does it. Being exposed to pro-social behaviour is one way in which the media can have a positive effect on people. Essentially, this explanation argues that when people are exposed to pro-social behaviour on TV and other sources of the media, they then become influenced by it. For example, if a character in a TV programme does something helpful, this explanation would argue that the person, who is exposed to this pro-social behaviour, would be affected by what they are seeing and this would then mean that they will copy that pro-social behaviour and also become helpful in real life. Greenberg carried out an analysis of popular children’s programmes in the US and found that there were an equivalent number of pro-social and antisocial acts. This shows us that the media does provide us with pro-social acts and it also shows us that we are exposed to these pro-social behaviours even though at times we may not be aware of it. Woodard carried out a research which showed that 77% of children’s programmes in the US contained pro-social messages. So, according to this explanation, anyone, who watches these children’s programmes, would be exposed to the pro-social acts and then they would copy the pro social acts and display them in real life situations. However, having said that, this research is ethnocentric as it was carried out in the US. This means that we cannot generalise the results to the rest of the population as it is culturally biased. For example, in other parts of the world, children may only be exposed to antisocial behaviour in TV programmes and yet they still behave in a pro-social way. This, therefore, raises the question as to whether or not the media can actually have a positive effect on individuals who are being exposed to pro-social behaviour-it might just be the person’s personality that is causing them to show pro-social behaviours rather than the media influencing that person. One strength of this explanation is the fact it is realistic to an extent. For example, it seems realistic that if a child is exposed to pro-social acts on TV, they would then get influenced by what they are seeing, and this would then lead them into copying that pro social behaviour. There has been a lot cases where children, who have watched programmes such as Bob the builder, have copied what they have seen in these programmes and then used what they have witnessed to help their friends and families to solve a problem. Another strength of this explanation is the fact that it can have a positive effect on parenting as this explanation can help parents to understand that what their children are watching can influence the way in which they behave. For example, parents may become cautious about what their children are watching on TV- they may encourage their children to watch TV programmes which contain more pro-social acts and less antisocial behaviours and this could potentially mean that their children may display more pro-social behaviours later on life.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Which Is More Important in Shaping Individual Identity: Social Structure or Social Interaction?

Social structure and social interaction are the building blocks of present life. The need for people to interact with each other is crucial and has always been the key action to survive and sustain existence. Sociologists now refer to this as socialisation, to establish the important components of living and a person’s social identity.Social structure is more important than social interaction in shaping individual social identity, the reason for this to have more importance in shaping someone’s social identity, is because without social structure there would be no social interaction both are important in discussing macrosociology (social structure) and microsociology (social interaction). Within social structure is class, status and institutions they will be expanded upon later in detail on the way they influence one social identity more then social interaction.Social identity is defined as a person’s acknowledgement of belonging to a certain social category or g roup where its members possess the same social identification and observe the surroundings with an individual perspective (Hogg & Abrams 1988, p. 7). To better understand social identity, Social structure needs to be explained, it is defined as the framework of society that was already laid out before we were born. Social structure refers to the typical patterns of a group, such as its usual relationships between men and women or students and teachers.The sociological significance of social structure is that it gives us direction to and sets limits on behaviour (Henslin, J. 2010, pp. 76 – 77). Social interaction is a significant part of life in society also a part of an individual’s social identity, it is the different ways that people interact with one another. Culture lays the broadest framework, while social class divides people according to income, education and occupational prestige. Each of us receives ascribed statuses at birth, that are involuntary that are inh erited and later achieved statuses are added.Our behaviours and orientations are further influenced by the roles we play, the groups to which we belong and our experiences with social institutions. These components of society work together to help maintain social order (Henslin, J. 2010, p. 76). To achieve social order all members of a society accept its moral values and their roles within it, complying to these norms is a way to maintain social order. Emile Durkhiem’s views were that rather than individual activities such as crime and religion causing certain behaviours, it was society as a whole Bessant & Watts, 2007 pp. 72 – 73). Showing that structure has more influence on a persons identity rather than their interactions within their class and statuses. Social Class is based on income, education and occupational prestige. Large numbers of people who have similar amounts of income and education and who work at jobs that are roughly comparable in prestige make up a social class. It is hard to overemphasise this aspect of social structure, for our social class influences not only our behaviours but even our ideas and attitudes (Henslin, J. 010, p. 78). There is four different structures that we can inherit at birth; wealthy upper class, middle class, working class and under class (Macionis & Plummer 1997). Karl Marx was the first to study class and it’s relationship to the functions of society and identity. Marx focused on how one class controlled and directed production, while the other classes were service providers or producers, whose efforts benefited the ruling or dominating class.Marx saw that human relationships and identity were a product of labour, and therefore shaped by it (Cox, 1998). An example of this is Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson being the controlling class and all his employees below him represent the other classes which all in turn benefits him. Social Status in sociology has been given two meanings. One refers to t he position that a person occupies in the social structure, such as teacher or priest.The other more specific meaning refers to the form of social stratification in which social positions are ranked and organised by legal, political and cultural criteria into status groups. These social positions may carry a great deal of prestige, as in the case of a judge or an astronaut, or it may bring little prestige as in the case as a grocery store worker or a waitress at the local pub. The status can also be looked down on as in the case of a homeless person, an ex-convict or a thief.Social status is a major shaping component of social identity status set all the statuses or positions that an individual occupies are generally all ascribed statuses that are inherited such as your race/ethnicity, sex and the social class of your parents as well yours statuses as female or male, daughter or son, niece or nephew. Our identity as ‘male’ or ‘female’ is one of the most bas ic aspects of our being. As Sigmund Freud observed a century ago, when you meet a person for the first time, the very first thing you notice about them is whether they are a man or woman (Bessant & Watts, 2007 p. 09). Social Institutions are the organised, usual or standard ways by which society meets its basic needs. Social institutions are the family, religion, education, economic, medicine, politics, law, science, the military and the mass media (Henslin, J. 2010, p. 81). They establish the context in which we live, shaping our behaviour and colouring our thoughts. Social institutions are so significant in shaping individual identity that is they were to change we would be different people, as they influence our orientations to the social world and the wider world itself.Much of the influence lies beyond our ordinary awareness. For example, because of our economic institution, it is common to work eight hours a day for five days every week. There is nothing normal or natural abou t this pattern, however. This rhythm is only an arbitrary arrangement for dividing work and leisure. Yet this one aspect of a single social institution has far-reaching effects. Not only does it also lays out a structure for their interaction with family and friends and for how they meet their personal needs (Henslin, J. 2010, p. 1). From this you can see that social identity is formed primarily by structure rather than interaction with individuals fitting into their institutions through their class and status showing the greater importance of social structure on shaping the social identity. Social identity is shaped through an individual’s journey in life within their social structure and social interaction, but this is not solely through inherited ascribed statuses, class and institutions also by the way a person socialises within the given environment.The inequalities of the worlds classes is shapes a person’s identity by the way they have had to behave due to their social structure limitations and well as the interactions with others of the same class and status, without this structure there would be no social interaction. This is why social structure is of a higher importance when it comes to shaping the identity of an individual. REFERENCE LIST Back, L. , Bennett, A. , Edles, L. ,Gibson, M. , Inglis, D. ,Jacobs, R. , Woodward, I 2012, Cultural Sociology: An Introduction, Wiley, ebook Bessant, J. amp; Watts, R. 2007, Sociology Australia, 3rd ed. , Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest Henslin, JM, Possamai, A, and Possamai-Indesedy, A 2011, Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest Hogg, M. A. & Abrams, D. 1988, Social Identifications A Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations and Group, Routledge, London Macionis, J. J. & Plummer, K. 2012, Sociology: A Global Introduction, 5th ed. , Pearson, Prentice Hall, New York Plummer, K 2010, Sociology: The Basics, Taylor and Francis, ebook

Literary Analysis on Death of a Salesman Essay

In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the conflict between a father and son shapes the overall meaning of the work and explains all of the adverse events that occur throughout. The sources of Willy and Biff’s conflicts, which include Biff’s delusional perception of the world as a result of ideas planted in him by his father, Biff’s discovery of his father’s affair, and Biff’s lack of business success all accumulate and result in the ultimate rivalry between the father and son. Altogether, these contribute greatly to the formation of the concept that personal dreams and desire to achieve success can often negatively interfere with personal relationships, and causing people to loose sight of what is important in our lives, as Willy and Biff exemplify. Throughout the play, there are flashbacks to Biff’s childhood as a successful athlete and motivated individual. Willy’s pride in his son’s accomplishments is apparent, as he constantly praises him saying, â€Å"Good work Biff!† (1561), yet Willy’s lack of acceptance of reality are as well. Frequently Bernard, a studious young boy, appears and reminds Willy of Biff’s unsatisfactory grades, yet Willy refuses to admit these downfalls and does not accept the reality of his son’s situation. Willy merely tells Bernard, â€Å"Don’t be a pest, Bernard! What an anemic!† (1560), and dismisses the negative statements made about Biff. Bernard constantly reappears almost as a symbol of Biff’s conscience, telling him to study or else he will not graduate. Willy does not help the situation and completely combats Bernard’s efforts by filling Biff’s head with lies and selling him on the idea of the American Dream as s omething that is easily achieved, by giving simple advice such as, â€Å"Be liked and you will never want† (1561). It is apparent that Willy weighs the importance of being well-liked and socially accepted more heavily than actual hard work and success, a negative reflection of his character. Willy preaches his philosophy that, â€Å"the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead† (1561). This is purely ironic due to the fact that Willy is the man who creates a personal interest in the business world with men of high status, but when all of his friends pass away he is left with nothing but a glorified past to remember. This false reality that Willy paints for Biff fosters the conflict between father and  son due to the fact that Biff fails as a result of the way he was raised. Biff follows his fathers ways and words, and by the time he takes his first job he has been raised to think that success and happiness will just come to him without excessive effort on his part. As any son would look up to and admire his father, Biff took his father’s advice and therefore makes no excessive efforts and put forth minimal work expecting to become successful merely because of his personality. This sense of entitlement is clearly diminished when Biff fails to keep a job and ends up at home. Willy never takes the time to teach Biff a good work ethic, good values, and strong morals, because Willy himself has not even established these within his own character. Therefore Biff steals, does not work hard, and finds it hard to make it in the real world. Willy himself does not know what is important in life, does not have morals, and does not value his family relationships, therefore he has no way of teaching Biff these vital tools for success and happiness. The resentment Willy feels because of Biff’s lack of success becomes the main conflict throughout the play ultimately reflects negatively upon Willy’s lack of ability to achieve the American dr eam himself, displaying Willy’s overall weak character. Biff’s discovery of his father’s affair serves as a main turning point for him as a character, a turning point that sends him downward into a life of struggle and lack of achievement. It is at this point that Biff loses respect for his father and begins to recognize the lie that he is living, thus making it a main source of conflict. Willy is in denial about his involvement with Biff’s failure in life, and when indirectly confronted by Bernard about the incident in Boston asking â€Å"What happened in Boston, Willy?† (1600), Willy becomes defensive, saying, â€Å"What are you trying to do, blame it on me? Don’t talk to me that way!† (1600). After being told about Biff’s reaction upon his return from Boston and the burning of his favorite University of Virginia shoes that symbolize Biff’s dreams and hopes for the future, Willy realizes the extent of impact that Biff’s discovery of the affair had. Willy’s lack of acc eptance of reality adversely affects his relationship with Biff because he never takes responsibility for his affair or even has the courage to admit it to Biff. As a result, when Biff discovers a woman in his father’s hotel room, he confronts his father, â€Å"You  fake! You phony little fake! You fake!† (1618) and all Willy can do is attempt to exercise his authority as a father which ultimately fails. Frequently throughout the play, Happy makes references to the man Biff used to be, asking him, â€Å"What happened, Biff? Where’s the old humor, the old confidence?† (1552). Learning about his father’s affair and seeing it firsthand that day in Boston was the turning point for Biff, the point where he grew up and realized that his father was a broken and defeated man, not the successful business man he portrayed himself as and used to be. As a result of this, Biff loses all respect for his father, and alternatively Willy begins to loathe Biff as well. Due to his discovery of the affair, Biff not only sees his father as a failed businessman, but a failed man. A man without money does not make him a bad man, but an adulterer who betrayed a woman who gave him everything cannot be forgiven in the eyes of a son. Throughout Willy’s continuous failures and defeats, his wife still remains supportive of him and loving, constantly reminding him of her affection for him. Despite this, Willy still yearns to have what he does not and thus pursues an extramarital relationship with â€Å"the other woman.† It is clear that Willy finds some kind of comfort and validation in this affair with a woman who makes him feel wanted, yet his wife does the same therefore it is clearly a matter of greed. â€Å"Willy’s sense of failure, his belief that he has no right to his wife, despite Linda’s love for him, is what motivates Willy’s deceptions, and those of his sons after him† (Bloom, Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: Death of a Salesman). This event contributes to the overall meaning of the work as a symbol of the failure of the American Dream by Willy, not only in terms of personal success but also in terms of family relationship and his family’s success. Not only does Willy cheat on his wife, loathe his son, and struggle to keep a job, but he has let his values go and seems to have no moral compass of right and wrong. It shows that he has failed in the business aspect of his life, and also in his morals. Finally, Biff’s lack of success in the real world contributes largely to the conflict between him and his father. After having countless jobs over a period of several years, Biff returns home with loss of all hope of finding a steady job to support himself. Willy is disappointed by Biff’s lack of  ability to succeed, and, â€Å"It is to Biff, the returning son, to whom Willy relates most affectively.† (Hadomi, Rhythm Between Father and Son.) It is because Willy can see so much of himself in Biff and relates so heavily to him that these resentful feelings arise. Biff reflects his father’s failed ideals and expectations for himself, which are represented in Willy’s fantasies and flashbacks regarding Biff’s successful and glorious childhood, as well as expectations that Willy originally had for himself. Willy sees his failed life and career as a middle-aged man, and recognizes similar traits and qualities in Biff. Although he never expresses these, it is apparent that Willy largely sees himself in his son and thus takes out his anger for himself on Biff, resulting in constant fighting and conflict. The conflicted relationship between Willy and Biff exemplifies the theme of the work that in one’s pursuit of professional and material success, it is easy to become preoccupied with superficial aspects of life while simultaneously losing sight of what matters most. Willy’s preoccupation with his quest for material fulfillment ultimately results in a flawed relationship with his family, and ultimately with his son Biff when Willy sees him following in his footsteps. This conflict between father and son is what shapes the theme of the work and serves to highlight Miller’s purpose and the greater meaning of the play; that nothing is more important than family. (Word Count: 1517)