...One important thing that Greg James’s global team is missing and needs to focus on is ‘Communication’. No leader can single handedly boost performance of the team. Hence to prevent such mishaps from happening again and to get best out of the team, a things need to be fixed from both Greg’s end and in the team. Of course it is Greg’s responsibility to ensure that team carries out the necessary changes, but let’s look at them individually. What needs to be change in Greg’s team going forward? Greg’s team currently can be viewed as a bunch of sub teams complaining against each other mainly because they have failed to understand each other. They lack the two fundamental things of a team; ‘Trust’ and ‘Coordination’. In the words of Judith A. Ross in the article “Make Your Good Team Great”, “Team achieve superior levels of participation, cooperation, and collaboration because their members trust one another, share a strong sense of group identity, and have confidence in their effectiveness as a team”. The levels of emotional intelligence was critically low in Greg’s global team. While a certain level of familiarity occurs naturally when people work in the same location, it is difficult to build within global teams, notes Debra Nunes, vice president, executive leadership team practice for the Hay Group. Here, the leader plays a critical role. We come to know that all of Greg’s weekly conference calls were an all-business type. He needs to allot some time during the calls for the team...
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...9-410-020 NOVEMBER 01, 2009 TSEDAL NEELEY Managing a Global Team: Greg James at Sun Microsystems, Inc. (B) “I learned that as a manager, you will face crises. You are not a failure if they are created on your watch. How you deal with these crises, however, will define your success as a leader.” −Greg James Greg James returned from his trip exhausted but intent on making the changes necessary to help his team work together effectively. The process problems that had instigated the HS Holdings crisis were easily remedied: James unified the two support queues, collapsed the weekend and weekday protocol phone numbers into one, and made sure that customer contact information was updated and universally available. But he knew that creating team cohesion was going to be more difficult. If James had learned anything from the HS Holdings crisis, he needed to keep his team more engaged with their client work and the company as a whole, and to keep himself better apprised of how his team was functioning. Before James could begin to create the kind of team cohesion he sorely needed, upper management wanted him to hold people accountable for the myriad of mistakes that had caused the crisis in the first place. James decided to weather the heat from upper management alone. Not only did he not fire any of his team members, he took full responsibility for all of the mistakes that had occurred under his watch. James knew that mistakes are a fact of life in such complex organizations, and...
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...Problem Statement Greg James, a global manager at Sun Microsystems, has found himself in a difficult situation after his teams failed to respond to a customer’s outage. James’s main problems are that his teams have a support system that fails to address emergency situations and that James has poor, inefficient communication with his teams that leads to unhappiness in the workplace. Analysis Sun Microsystems uses a support systems that queues problems for resolution. The situation for HS Holdings went into a queue that is designed to keep track of missing contract numbers. Since there is no queue system for emergencies, it took several hours for anyone of importance to notice the issue. Jamal, the programmer that created the queue system, stated his assignment was to create a queue for accounts with missing contract numbers. Never was Jamal communicated to create a program that dealt with emergencies such as when a client’s servers go down. The problem here is that Sun Microsystems does not have an emergency situation protocol. With a fail proof support system, one that is designed to deal with emergencies, James would not be traveling across the globe to meet with each of him teams. Sun Microsystems also fails from poor and inefficient communications from James to his teams which has caused unhappiness. If this problem is left uncheck, employee morale will decrease and Sun Microsystems could start to see themselves with a high employee turnover. One of the biggest reasons...
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...Managing a Global Team: Greg James at Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A) Greg James, a global manager at Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun), slumped on the edge of his bed in the company’s corporate flat in Paris. He struggled to even move after only three hours of sleep. James had embarked on this unexpected trip from Sun’s Santa Clara, California, headquarters six days earlier. With only a few hours’ notice, he had set out to meet with his entire 45-member customer implementation team spread across India, France, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States (US). He had already met with his team members in the US, India, and the UAE. France was his final stop before heading home. For the second time, the team had failed to respond promptly to a customer system outage as required by a service contract agreement. James had begun this trip assuming he would find a swift resolution to the rapidly escalating customer situation that had motivated it. Unfortunately, that had not been the case. James knew that if he could just make it to the gym, exercise would invigorate him and clear his head: “Five more minutes and then I’ll go.” Twenty minutes later, still in his room, he grabbed his laptop and launched his e-mail. Re: HS Holdings James scanned his inbox, reliving the events that had plunged him into this predicament. Six days earlier, he had received a string of e-mails, forwarded to him by his team. Rahul Ashok, service manager for the Mumbai team, was in touch with Praveen Devilal...
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...Last year I had read the book entitled “Three cups of tea: One man’s mission to promote peace…One school at a time” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. This book has influenced my perceptions of the world that there still exists compassion and humanity. The book traces the life of mountaineer Greg Mortenson and his efforts towards establishing schools for the people of the remote, inaccessible areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Greg Mortenson was a mountaineer who got lost in the mountains of Pakistan on his way back from climbing K2, one of the world's highest and most dangerous peaks, in the Himalayas. He wandered into Korphe, a poor Balti village in Pakistan, where the chief and his people took him in and nursed him back to health. Moved by their kindness, Greg promised to return and build a school for the children. This is the remarkable story of how, against all the odds, Greg built not only one but more than sixty schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and dedicated his life to establishing literacy and peace. Pakistan, touted by many as a harbinger of war, was in a state of war when the author chanced upon the province of Balti. The natives therefore were hesitant and apprehensive of the unknown and fearful of outsiders. The presence of a stranger could have spurned them, but they nursed and sheltered Greg. This proves that compassion and selflessness are still alive. At this juncture the book reintroduced to me this amazing category of people who are still...
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...adapt (focus was internal rather than on audience.) The Structure in place during John Birt was clearly Functional Structure * Flatter and flexible structure was put in place. * Senior management layer was removed – 17 directors would report directly to Director General * Removal of duplications of central and support functions * Simplifying internal trading * Control by performance * Specialization of competencies * Geographic divisions for better control * Each division became independent and self sufficient * Because of this independent behavior of different units and the sheer size of the leadership group and the executive committee, hands on editing by Greg Dyke was not possible. Hence accountability was difficult to ascertain in this structure. Greg Dykes Structure was mostly a Multi Divisional...
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...Joseph Nye in The Powers to Lead defines what he believes to be a leader and the skills necessary to be a leader. Greg Mortenson, the focus of Three Cups of Tea, fulfills Nye’s definition of a leader. After failing to summit K2, Mortenson stumbled upon a small Pakistani village and began a journey that would not only change his life, but the lives of thousand of children in Pakistan. While building schools in Pakistan, Mortenson has helped transform the mindset of an entire nation about the value of education. Nye says that two-thirds of Americans believe they are in “leadership crisis” (Nye pre). After the collapse of the sub-prime housing market and recent economic struggles, who can blame them? Those who are looking for a leader, however, need look no further than Greg Mortenson. Joseph Nye defines a leader as one who “helps create and achieve shared goals” (Nye 18). A leader must act in a triangular system that involves the leader, his followers, and the context in which the situation exists (Nye 21). Mortenson works effectively as a member of the leadership triangle. He acts as the leader and his followers are the towns, villages, and refugee camps that receive the benefits of his schools, water systems, and community centers as well as his assistants and the members of the Central Asia Institute. The context in which Mortenson exercises his leadership is as equally important as the other two parts of the triangle. As Nye quotes Karl Marx as saying, “Men make...
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...Lisa Mason and Izzy Brown changed their Profile pictures. 55 minutes ago Options Izzy Brown is now friends with Cameron James France and 8 other people. Find friends · about an hour ago Options Elle Alpin commented on a photo. Harvey Pearson Prom! ♥ — with Matthew Alpin. Like · · Share · 17 hours ago near Torrisholme · Elle Alpin typical 3 hours ago · Like Harvey Pearson He looks like Bruno Mars ;) 3 hours ago · Like Elle Alpin he wishes he looked like Bruno Mars ;) 2 hours ago · Like Options Elle Alpin likes a photo. Matthew Alpin Unlike · · Share · 18 May at 22:42 · You, Matty Scott, Elle Alpin, Naomi Ryan and 62 others like this. Shannon Mae Davey most likes on a cover photo, ever? 27 May at 17:01 · Like · 1 Lauren Beamer DIRTY!!!! 27 May at 17:34 · Like · 1 Options Elle Alpin likes a photo. Rachel Tilburn Unlike · · Share · 8 hours ago · You, Elle Alpin, Matthew Alpin and 2 others like this. Options Elle Alpin likes a photo. Rachel Tilburn Like · · Share · 8 hours ago · Elle Alpin, Matthew Alpin, Zak Bragg and 5 others like this. Michelle Hill You look fab Rach! Lovely photo xx 7 hours ago · Like Options Elle Alpin likes a photo. Josie Flint GBF 4Eva! — with Matthew Alpin. Like · · Share · 3 hours ago via Mobile · Matthew Alpin, James Jarnold Arnold and 2 others like this. Options Elle Alpin likes a status. Richard Burke This time next year will be my first fathers day...
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...Greg Mortenson achieved great success in a region of the world that lacked the resources and man power that he indeed could supply. However, his means of attaining his "volunteer status" shed some light on idea that Greg Mortenson was just in it for the money. Although he did in fact build schools in the Middle East, his lies and embellishment take away from his success. What seemed like a routine mountain climb of K-2 would change Greg Mortenson's life forever. In his biography, Mortenson begins with describing his motives for climbing the treacherous mountain range. His sister, Christa, suffered from an epileptic seizure and then died ten months later due to complications. To commemorate his sisters brave struggle, he deceived to climb K-2 and place her necklace...
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...In 2007, Three Cups of Tea had signaled much confusion. One individual, Greg Mortenson, helped publish Three Cups of Tea and his fabrication could be seen throughout the book. A few individuals had seen the lies and took action. CBS and Jon Krakauer reported about Greg Mortenson’s lies in 60 Minutes. After that, NBC had interviewed Mortenson, confirming that he lied in his book. Greg Mortenson fabricated his story, he also built schools for children in the Middle East. Mortenson should be punished for his lies in Three Cups of Tea. When Three Cups of Tea was published, much controversy, about Greg’s schools, was raised. Mortenson, according to the argument, lied about the number of schools he built. In 2011, Jon Krakauer had written Three Cups of Deceit, claiming that much of Mortenson’s experiences regarding his adventures in making his schools are highly exaggerated. Krakauer uses Mortenson’s acquaintances to support his claims, against Mortenson (Krakauer). CBS, also, launched an investigation on Mortenson. CBS had aired in 60 Minutes that he did lie. In 60 Minutes, Krakauer claimed that Mortenson did create schools, but Three Cups of Tea is over exaggerated....
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...Do you enjoy your summers? Well one thing for sure is that Greg Heffley doesn’t. Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days” starts with summer vacation. In this book, Greg is the main character again, and summer vacation is on. He expects to stay home and play video games, but his mom thinks the opposite. One day Greg’s summer vacation turns into a total blast, when Greg calls Rowly to hang out, Rowly excitedly tells him that he’s going to his family’s country club. Right away, Greg rudely invites himself, but Rowly just goes along. The country club from then on was Greg’s everyday place to go in summer, as he got this brilliant idea of taking advantage of Rowley, just to go to the club. Greg starts ordering food and milkshakes and smoothies, they play golf, tennis and go golf karting. But as one day Greg’s dad gets suspicious about him going outside and to the country club each day, so Greg makes up a lie and tells him that he got a job there.Greg’s dad was very proud of him, until when Rowley’s Dad, informs Mr. Heffley of what was happening....
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...Executive Summary Automation Consulting Services (ASC) has experienced rapid and tremendous growth, resulting in several issues and problems within the company. Founders are worried the company is out of control due to the increasing business practice conflict, inconsistency in entrepreneur spirit and increase in office expenses. Thus they are considering documenting a long-term company strategy, monitoring office costs and centralizing the control in order to address these problems. The purposes of this report are to: · Identify and analyze the issues raised from current operating offices. · Provide recommendations to address the problems and concerns that have been raised. To address the issues that have been raised, it is recommended that ASC: · Establish a long-term strategy to convey company goals, promote a unified entrepreneur spirit, and prevent future business practice conflicts, while maintaining the current level of autonomy assigned to office partners. · Implement a new pricing policy where the price is determined by the estimated expense plus a 20% markup. This helps eliminate the current practice of cross-subsidizing, provides partners with incentives in cost control, and helps offices shift from operating as revenue centres to profit centres. · Incorporate client based evaluations into the annual bonus system for partners, encouraging them to expand the client base through acquisition of new clients while maintaining current client relationships...
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...LANCE ARMSTRONG1 On July 24, 2005, Lance Armstrong became the first person ever to win the Tour de France seven times. Armstrong’s unprecedented achievement was all the more remarkable for the fact that in 1996 Armstrong was treated for testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. Even without cancer, Lance Armstrong was not an obvious candidate for title of the greatest cyclist ever. Despite certain natural advantages – notably a heart 30% larger than normal with an abnormally slow beat rate (32 times per minute while at rest) – Armstrong’s aerobic rate was less than that of cycling greats such as Miguel Indurain and Greg LeMond. For most of his career, Armstrong was not the world’s preeminent cyclist. He won the world championship just once (1993) and his Olympic best was a bronze medal in 2000 Sydney games. Armstrong’s seven-year dominance of the Tour de France resulted from a combination of factors, not least of which was his singleminded focus, not just on cycling, but on a single race. Between his 1999 and 2005 Tour de France victories, Armstrong was overall winner in only five other cycle races. Armstrong raised planning for the Tour to a new level of sophistication. His meticulous preparations included: “. . . computer calculations that balanced my body weight and my equipment weight with the potential velocity of my bike,” and “careful computer graphs of my training rides, calibrating the distances, wattages, and thresholds.” Armstrong abilities were well-suited...
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...Book Review Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin. Three Cup of Tea. New York: Penguin Young Reader Group, 2009, 209 pages. This book is from the author’s personal story of how he discovered himself from the failure of mountain climbing to the rescue by the village Korphe in Pakistan. His life goal occurred a big change and resulted the commitment of building schools for poor children in Pakistan and Afghanistan mountains which inspired by the kindness offering that the little mountain village’s chief he stayed. Furthermore, this book is about the process of how he achieved this life goal. Biography of The Author Greg Mortenson is born in Minnesota and move to Tanzania with his parents when he was just three months old because of his father was missionary. He went back to the domestic of the United States when he was fifteen years old. Mr. Mortenson is also a previous mountain climber. He is the cofounder of the nonprofit organizations the Central Asia Institute and Pennies for Peace. He has established many schools in rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide education to more than 28,000 children where few education opportunities existed before, especially female children. Introduction of The Book Greg Mortenson, the author of this book, went to Pakistan for climbing the second highest mountain in the world, K2, to memorize his dead sister. After the unexpected failure of his challenge, he got lost in the mountains. However,...
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...When I was little, I hated crayons. I prided myself on my superior fine motor skills. I always colored inside the lines, and cut paper perfectly along the thick black outlines even if I took twice as long. I always had neat, legible handwriting that all the other first graders envied (or so I thought). Crayons, to my six-year-old mind, symbolized everything that was wrong with the world. The color was always lumpy and uneven, so it was virtually impossible to color completely inside the lines. Crayons smelled like burning cardboard mixed with old potpourri, and broke too easily. I could never sharpen them, even with a special crayon sharpener, so they were as nice as when they'd first come out of the box. After I used a crayon once, the point would become rounded, defective. Eventually, the paper wrapping would slide off or the crayon would get so short I would have to tear away the label. The crayon wasn't perfect anymore. It was ratty. Blunt. Short. Ugly. Ten years later, I still have something of a profound preoccupation with perfection. Recently I was making a birthday card for a friend. It was beautiful - I had cut out flowers from construction paper and pasted them on. I meticulously outlined each flower with glitter glue and drew "Happy Birthday," braving the brain-cell-slaughtering odor of a Sharpie marker. After cutting the words out, I pasted them onto the front of the card and outlined them in glitter glue. The card sparkled under the lamplight and the flowers...
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