...History of Leadership Research Researchers have examined leadership skills from a variety of perspectives. Early analyses of leadership, from the 1900s to the 1950s, differentiated between leader and follower characteristics. Finding that no single trait or combination of traits fully explained leaders' abilities, researchers then began to examine the influence of the situation on leaders' skills and behaviors. Subsequent leadership studies attempted to distinguish effective from non-effective leaders. These studies attempted to determine which leadership behaviors were exemplified by effective leaders. To understand what contributed to making leaders effective, researchers used the contingency model in examining the connection between personal traits, situational variables, and leader effectiveness. Leadership studies of the 1970s and 1980s once again focused on the individual characteristics of leaders which influence their effectiveness and the success of their organizations. The investigations led to the conclusion that leaders and leadership are crucial but complex components of organizations. Traits Model of Leadership: Leaders versus Followers Initial investigations of leadership considered leaders as individuals endowed with certain personality traits which constituted their abilities to lead. The studies investigated individual traits such as intelligence, birth order, socioeconomic status, and child-rearing practices (Bass, 1960; Bird, 1940; Stogdill, 1948, 1974)...
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...the last few decades. It seems organizations are recognizing the importance of organisational learning as a whole rather than few individuals within the organisation that have expertise. Organisational learning not only improves the knowledge of employees, but skills and behaviours as well. Although it takes time; effort by management; and financial means the benefits and opportunities created by a learning organisation far outweighs its limitations. In order to assess the progress of Standard Bank in becoming learning organisation, the following will be covered in my essay. Firstly I will define the concept learning organisation; secondly I will address the characteristics of a learning organisation; thirdly I will identify the progress of Standard Bank in becoming a learning organisation with regards to the characteristics; furthermore I will identify barriers to organisational learning at Standard Bank; and lastly I will provide recommendations of Standard Bank’s efforts in becoming a learning organisation. 2.1 Learning organisation defined According to Senge (1990:3) learning organisations are “organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.” According to Garvin (1993:82) “a learning organization is an organization skilled at creating, acquiring...
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...process that guides both leaders and followers to a common goal, that being a shared culture that binds the members together in a healthy and productive climate. I present several leadership factors that play an important role in shaping a healthy organizational culture. The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture One of the most critical roles of a leader is to create and maintain a healthy culture in his or her organization. This needs to happen at all levels of an organization, so the responsibility rests with all levels of leadership, from the most senior executives down to the first line supervisor. Culture represents the organization’s personality and has a critical influence on both employee satisfaction and organizational success. While every organization has a culture, it is often misunderstood by the members of the organization due to various interpretations between departments or divisions, both laterally and hierarchically. While some variation may be necessary to meet business demands in larger organizations, it is important for all organizations, both large and small, to have an overarching culture that is ingrained and functioning throughout the entire organization. Leaders must understand and acknowledge the critical role they have in directly shaping the organizational culture. Failure to do so can negatively impact the organization and threaten the very sustainability of the organization. For the remainder of this paper, I will define...
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...this author prefers centers on the learning organization. The learning organization is not a new concept however, it did not become popular until the 1990s when organizations begin to realize that in order to be successful well into the future they had to embrace new ways of thinking instead of hanging onto the old ways of thinking. A learning organization is able to continuously experiment and improve its capabilities by enabling individuals within the organization to identify and solve problems. Therefore, the organization is able to enhance its capacity to grow, learn, and adapt its culture. Furthermore, the organization will gain new knowledge and insights. By comparing the articles this author believes that there is no universal definition of a learning organization and that there are multiple viewpoints surrounding the characteristics of this type of organization. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: a discussion that focuses on the varying definitions of a learning organization and multiple viewpoints related to the characteristics of learning organizations. Discussion: Definition of a Learning Organization Organizational practitioners define the term “learning organization” in a variety of ways. However, even to this day, a universal definition of a “learning organization” remains elusive. Although, the most widely accepted definition was given by Senge who defines a learning organization as an organization where individuals are...
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...Typically securities are divided into equities that represent ownership interest that the shareholders in an organization hold and debt securities representing borrowed funds that must be paid back. In this essay I will be discussing the significance of understanding the differences between fixed income securities and common stock securities. In the United States, the sales of securities are regulated by organizations like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission or for short the SEC. Publicly traded companies have two classes of securities they issue, which are common stock securities and preferred stock securities. A security is what is considered a paper asset with the potential to be traded in small denominations (mostly) in the secondary market. Securities that pay a fixed amount of income are considered to be fixed-income securities i.e. bonds or preferred stocks. Bonds are debt securities that are dispensed by the government and corporations having a face value, or par. Unlike bonds preferred stocks are a representation of equal ownership within the issuing corporation having no maturities but the ability of the giver to cash in, or call the shares at par. Now a common stock security on the other hand is different from fixed-income securities. They are considered to be the simple form of ownership of any organization or corporation. Every...
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...communication and the common characteristics of an organizational culture. Organizational communication fosters a strong and productive organizational culture. One of the vital common characteristics of an organizational culture is innovation and risk taking. “Upward communication flows to a higher level in the group or organization. It’s used to provide feedback to higher-ups, inform them of progress toward goals, and relay current problems” (Robbins & Judge, 2011, ). If the organization does not encourage upward communication, the lack of feedback from the employees will eliminate the generation of new ideas. The employees will not suggest any new techniques or any new methods that could improve their efficiency or effectiveness for their job. Instead, they will continue to adhere to the current methods and procedures. The example below supports this concept in organization A. “Creative decisions that incur significant change or risk are not encouraged. Because managers of failed projects are openly criticized and penalized, managers try not to implement ideas that deviate much from the status quo. One lower-level manager quoted an often-used phrase in the company: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” (Robbins & Judge, 2011, ). However, if the employees are encouraged participate in upward communication, the organizations culture would allow the generation of new ideas and innovative risk-taking strategies. The example below supports this concept in organization B. “Management...
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...1. The proprietorship form of business organization b. generally receives favorable tax treatment relative to a corporation. 2. A business organized as a corporation c. is owned by its stockholders. 3. The partnership form of business organization c. enjoys an unlimited life. 4. Which of the following is not one of the three forms of business organization? . d. investors. 5. Most business enterprises in the United States are a. proprietorships and partnerships. 6. In a classified balance sheet, assets are usually classified as: c. current assets; long-term investments; tangible assets; and intangible assets. 7. A current asset is d. expected to be converted to cash or used in the business within a relatively short period of time. 8. Which of the following is not considered an asset? b. Dividends 9. Liabilities are generally classified on a balance sheet as d. current liabilities and long-term liabilities. 10. Which of the following would not be classified as a long-term liability? a. Current maturities of long-term debt 11. Which of the following is not a current liability? d. Bonds payable 12. Earnings per share are calculated by dividing b. net income less preferred stock dividends) by average common shares outstanding. 13. Dividends appear on a. the retained earnings statement...
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...The Servant A leader is very important in any business organization because a good leader changes the behaviors and environment of a company in a good way. A leader has self-control and can handle any situation that the organization faces. Being a leader is not a gift that a person born with, but a skill that a person acquire. In a business world is very important to know the characteristic of a leader. The story “The servant”, by James C. Hunter, shows how a true leader should be. The story says that a leader is a person that influences people to work on a common goal. This means that a leader is a person that influence and motivate people. A leader is an inspirer and role model to the people that he works with. A leader has to have desired to change his ways of doing thing for the good of others. In an organization is necessary to have a leader because a leader will harmonize the environment of the organization when there are changes. Most organization uses power to make people to work on a task. However, a leader uses authority. Authority is very different that power. Power is about the position of the person and uses that position to make people do what he wants to. For example, when a person has power, he uses his power to make people to do what he wants to, even if the people don’t want to. However, when a person has authority, he uses his influence people and the people willingly will do what the person want to be done. Authority is about who is the person and...
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...and retaining talent staffing the process of planning, acquiring, deploying and retaining employees that enables an organization to meet its talent needs and to execute its business strategy total rewards the sum of all of the rewards employees receive in exchange for their time, efforts and performance direct financial compensation compensation received in the form of salary, wages, commissions, stock options or bonuses indirect financial compensation all the tangible and financially valued rewards that are not included in direct compensation, including free meals, vacation time and health insurance nonfinancial compensation rewards and incentives given to employees that are not financial in nature including intrinsic rewards received from the job itself or from the work environment Strategic risk, Operational risk, Financial risk and Compliance risk Managing human resources strategically helps organizations manage four types of risk: business strategy defines how a firm will compete in its marketplace talent philosophy a system of beliefs about how an organization's employees should be treated human resource strategy links the entire human resource function with the firm's business strategy global mindset a set of individual attributes that enable you to influence individuals, groups and organizations from diverse socio/cultural/institutional systems superior value for their money To have a competitive advantage...
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...what I have studied with my own experiences and discuss the significance of such an approach within current organizational environments. During this process, the first part of this essay will describe the basic meaning of organic and mechanistic organization with what I have understood from the class and own opinion. And the second part will discuss the difference between the organic and mechanistic organization such as structure, characteristic and conditions. Finally, the last part is focus on discuss what will influence the organizational choose the organisation design and which will match with the post-bureaucratic organisation. This essay will use some case study or company as example to explain the perspective. The first part is clearly explaining meaning of mechanistic and organic organization. Mechanistic organisation, also known as a bureaucracy organization (Morgan, 2006), is a system that integrated use of principles of traditional organisational design. The traditional organizational, look organization as machines (Morgan, 2006) insist the result under unified command, so it produced a formal terms of rigid hierarchy chain (Lunenburg, 2012) which each person only control and supervision by a superior. This mean organization need to maintain a narrow margin management, as well as the improvement of organisational level then narrower the management margin, so that it forms as an impersonal structure. In this situation, increase the use...
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...counterproductive behavior in the workplace is an important concern for any organization. Productive behavior is seen by an employer as work that contributes positively to the goals of the organization, according to Campbell (1990). Once an employee reaches points were they are comfortable in his or her job they usually begin to positiv contribute to the organization. Counterproductive behavior is defined as any behavior that goes against the main company goals. A general goal for any business is profitability; however, there are other areas such as customer service which is affected by counterproductive behaviors. Organizational psychologists have devoted considerable time to the study of productive behavior and counterproductive behaviors in organizations. Job performance has been measured by organizational psychologist to understand predictors of an employee excelling versus failing at work. Behavior is a combination of the characteristics of the individual as well as environmental factors. These same factors, individual characteristics, and environment, contribute to counterproductive behaviors as well. Socialization occurs during the time an employee learns to do his or her job, and gets along with other employees in the workplace. All organizations have politics, or un-written rules that define behavior of employees within the organization. Organizations expect employees to learn the goals and values of the organization and embrace them to some extent. Another factor of organizational...
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...accounting department in my organization has shown himself to be a very effective leader. Over the last three years that he has headed the accounting department I’ve seen a huge change which I contribute to his leadership characteristics and behaviors. I have been with the organization for five years and before our current Controller came on board we were considered the worse accounting department in the organization, and now we are the best accounting department. We’ve improved as a department on many levels ranging from having the top employees, streamlined processes, improved turnaround time, increased accuracy, and improved synergy among the department. J.R. Hipple, managing partner of Albright Group says; “effective leaders must have the courage to be honest, responsible, respectful, fair and compassionate” (Neumeier, 14) and our Controller has definitely exhibited those behavioral traits. Theoretical Framework A highly effective leader combines various leadership styles to encourage team work and motivate employees to strive towards the common goal of the team or organization. An effective leader has innate characteristics that make them an effective leader. Most effective leaders that I have come across are extraverts, confident in themselves, cope with stress, adaptable, self-motivated, and hard working. Simply combining leadership styles will not make an effective leader if they do not have natural leadership characteristics. A leader should use a combination...
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...against the diversity of kinds of organizations, Max Weber looked for the common in all of them and he called to the common characteristics: bureaucracy. In addiction, it was necessary for him to the complex organization of the activities in modern society, because in the traditional societies it was too limited, it is used only in some aspects of the organization, such as tax collection, army's organization, etc. Weber recognized that bureaucracy creates jamming and disadvantages such a slow, boring..., but he thought this was the price for a rational and effective, which has the advantages of maximizing the effectiveness with which goals are achieved , maximize of efficiency to achieve the best result at the lowest cost and can control the uncertainty to the workers, suppliers and markets. Then, the “ideal-type” bureaucracy characteristics are: a) Hierarchy of offices, is a pyramid with a chain of command, in which each instance monitors and controls the lower. Consist of positions that involve a number of duties and privileges, in the highest positions, not people, is the authority, which is always clearly defined and limited. b) There are written rules that regulate and specify the tasks of each, allowing the functioning of the bureaucracy is orderly and predictable, although there is turnover. c) Impersonal before making decisions, so that the interests and feelings are relegated to private life outside the organization. d) Specialization for different...
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...Organization !1 ORGANIZATION Name Course Institution Date Introduction Organization !2 The main aim of the paper will be to support the definition of an organization as a group of people who work together in an organised way for a shared purpose. To achieve this, major characteristics of an organization, such as shared mission, vision and goals, bureaucracy, inclusiveness in decision-making process, work specialization and collective bargaining power will be analysed. Shared mission, vision and goals Every formal organization has mission, which highlights the reason why such an entity exists. The mission statement explains what an organization is out to do, and to achieve (Scott, 2008, p. 90). The vision on the other hand explains what an organization plans to do in order to achieve its mission. Goals are specific, measurable and timely targets that each organization has put forwards to improve its status quo. In order to realize the mission, vision and goals, it is vital that all the stakeholders work as a team. The management ensures that every employee understands the goals clearly, and that each is working towards their realization. The shared mission, vision and goal are achieved through monitoring and evaluation. The management has a role of monitoring the performance of every employee in an effort to know whether they are working in the right direction. Any activity that employees engage in must be geared towards the achievement of the organization’s...
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...Assignment No. 6 1. Define quality. Quality is the degree to which the design specifications for a product or service are appropriate to its function and use, and the degree to which a product or service conforms to its design specifications. 2. What do you mean by inspection? Enumerate the objectives of inspection. Inspection is the most common method of attaining standardization, uniformity and quality of workmanship. It is the cost art of controlling the production quality after comparison with the established standards and specifications. It is the function of quality control. The objectives of inspection are the following: To detect and remove the faulty raw materials before it undergoes production. To detect the faulty products in production whenever it is detected. To bring facts to the notice of managers before they become serous to enable them discover weaknesses and over the problem. To prevent the substandard reaching the customer and reducing complaints. To promote reputation for quality and reliability of product. 3. What do you mean by ‘control’? Control is the process through which the standards are established and met with. This process consists of observing our activity performance, comparing the performance with some standard and then taking action if the observed performance is significantly too different from the standards 4. Define the control process. The control process involves a universal sequence of steps such as:...
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