...process by which an agent induces a subordinate to behave in a desired manner. There have been many great leaders in the past that fit the definitions above but there are others that do not seem to fit the standard definitions of leadership. Some leaders just have the capability to change people and organizations. One such person is Oprah Winfrey. I think Oprah is a great example of a transformational leader. As a child growing up in Mississippi, being poor, black and overweight was not enough to stop Oprah from pursuing the dreams she had for herself. In 1986, Harpo Productions, Oprah’s production company was formed. The production company was formed with the intention of bringing quality entertainment projects into production. In 1988, Oprah made television history by becoming the first woman to own and produce her own talk show. This show was very successful allowing her to achieve great financial success. Several years later, The Oprah Magazine was successfully introduced to the world. In 2003 Oprah Winfrey became the first African-American woman to reach billionaire status as seen in the Forbes magazine list of American billionaires. Oprah is trusted by a lot of people. She is both a manager and a leader. As a manager, she maintains and controls the organization. As the leader, she innovates and inspires others to become the best they can be. As a transformational leader, she presents a realistic image of the future that can be shared by others. Oprah’s subordinates are...
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...Jamont Waters Macroeconomics November 5, 2012 Oprah Winfrey Most Successful Talk Show Host to Live Oprah Winfrey is the most successful talk show host that has ever graced this earth. Oprah was born in a poor rural town of Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 25, 1954. After a troubled childhood filled with sexual abuse by a number of male relatives and friends of her mother, Vernita, Oprah moved to Nashville to live with her father, Vernon, a barber and businessman. She went to Tennessee State University in 1971 and began working in radio and television broadcasting in Nashville. In 1976, Oprah moved to Baltimore where she hosted the TV chat show, People Are Talking. The show became a hit and Oprah stayed with it for eight years. She then hosted her own morning show A.M. Chicago after she was recruited by a Chicago TV station. At this time Donahue was competition for her, but within several months of her A.M. show, she had won her 100,000 more viewers than Donahue and had taken her show from last place to first in the ratings. Her success led to nationwide fame and a role in the film, The Color Purple, in 1985. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Oprah launched the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986 as a nationally syndicated program. Her show grossed over $125 million by the end of its first year, which Oprah received $30 million. She was on 120 channels and had an audience of 10 million people. She soon gained ownership of the program from ABC, drawing...
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...By any definition of the word, Oprah Winfrey is a leader, someone who has the influence and power to guide others. And when you look at the definition of charismatic – possessing an extraordinary ability to attract - there is no denying that Winfrey would transcend normal leadership to be categorized as a charismatic leader. Although she does lead groups of employees in her media empire, her leadership influence is primarily seen in her ability to influence viewers of The Oprah Winfrey Show and readers of ‘O’ magazine. In what is often called “The Oprah Effect”, when Oprah endorses an idea or product, everyone wants a piece of it. For example, when Oprah began her book club in 1996 whereby she selected a book for discussion on her show and encouraged her audience to read the book, she single-handedly bolstered the publishing industry and book sales (Hussain, 2007). We’re talking about the type of spike in sales that have never before been seen in history. She has been called the most influential person in the world. According to Wong (2006), you won’t see Oprah doing traditional endorsements such as getting paid to have her name associated with any certain brand of clothing or shoes, but rather Winfrey aims to share what she is passionate about with others. And if you happen to be in the business of selling something Oprah is passionate about, then you are in for a windfall. Her influence, however, goes beyond spiking retail sales. That is simply a fortunate by-product...
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...Oprah Winfrey Rubina J. Hammond Business 302 Management November 25, 2012 For this assignment of leadership assessment I chose Oprah Winfrey to write about, she personifies a strong woman who is a natural born leader. She represents an error of women that despite life struggles and obstacles in her life, she is an advocate in empowering everyone in educating themselves, deterring what their goal was and pursue it, but least of all leadership. Born Oprah Gail Winfrey in Kosciusko Mississippi in 1954, she was introduced to her leadership potential at a young age living with her grandmother. She went from living with her grandmother who taught her to read and write, to living with her mother who never had time for her and she encounter abuse, her mother sent her to live with her father there she was introduce to a more structured and strict routine. Her father encourage her Oprah’s father was very strict and made education the number-one priority for Oprah. Although by high school she wasn’t precisely certain toward what she wanted to do, however she knew it was something with speaking or drama. Oprah was also elected school president and met with President Richard Nixon being a part of public speaking classes in her high-school. (Cinderella Stores Of Women Leaders: Connecting Leadership COntext and...
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...definite questions that are brought up regarding the strength of sustainment and longevity of the company. Case Study What are the potential dangers of having one super-powerful leader of an organization (Colquitt, J. A., Lepine, J. A., & Wesson, M. J., pg.474)? One potential danger is relying too much on the actual power of the leader to continue the success of the organization. The company must be well-structured at the top management levels and provide lateral responsibilities, instead of being so totalitarian. The company’s senior management must lead the whole team to not only manage vertically, but also to work collaboratively and laterally with their peers, the other managers. This will build a solid management structure that will thrive in troubled times and allow for strong problem solving. How might Winfrey go about ensuring that Harpo survives after her departure or in the event of a loss of faith on the part of the public? Is it possible to have a true leadership succession plan in these circumstances (Colquitt, J. A., Lepine, J. A., & Wesson, M. J., pg.474)? As with any proven succession plan, a strong company vision must be present to make the plan effective. Along with a strong company vision, the management team must be comprised of committed individuals with the skills to foster the corporate culture that Oprah has established. Oprah must look for people to be part of her management team who are self-motivated, ambitious and who will never be satisfied...
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...Throughout history there have been leaders and famous people for that matter that have been looked at as leaders. A leader is someone who people choose to follow and influences others to do things that they may not otherwise do. Ideally one would expect the effective leader to be a person of integrity. But is that really always the case? There are five different leadership styles that would apply to leaders of yesterday as well as today. The first theory would be the trait theory. An example of a leader that falls into the trait theory would be motivational speaker Tony Robins, because he has charisma. The attributes that give off his persona of charisma is his magnetic personality, paired with superb communication skills. His approach to this is pulling people in with his smile. When he takes the floor, people listen. He proves to have the magnetic personality as he speaks people attract to him as if they were metal being drawn to the magnet. Of the five leadership styles, the trait theory is more salient for Tony Robbins because with the charisma the he exudes it does not matter. For example the type of behavior he presents good or bad for that matter gets over looked once he begins to speak. He takes on the Autocratic approach as what he “preaches” is the belief that he expects his listeners to take on. That is the right way and the only way it should be done. Ronald Reagan “the people’s president,” would be an example of the contingency theory. He would be categorized...
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...Amanda Lopez Stock1 Queen of Talk Under Bad Lighting As a leader and icon Oprah Winfrey has redefined the meaning of success and has become one of the most praised women. Oprah has had numerous articles, books, and magazines, dedicated to highlighting her success. Another article in the New York Times summing up Ms. Winfrey’s accomplishments is nothing less than typical. However, what is uncommon is to come across a writer such as gossip columnist Kitty Kelley, doing what no one dares to do and confronting the negative and practically silent aspects of Oprahs’s stardom. In Kitty Kelley’s Oprah biography, she provides her readers with a raw and insightful view contradicting The New York Times view on Oprah as an ultimate multimedia icon. Oprah Winfrey has set a silent standard to the way her fans and outside viewers perceive her, this standard being that you, do not question the queen of talk. The New York Times along with other newspapers and magazines would not dare contradict Oprah because in the eyes of the media she has the very two qualities we love as a nation, power, and money. The article in the New York Times states her accomplishments as her show “Oprah” is now soon to end, and what else is in her future. It is all apart of the typical praise that follows the headline “Oprah Winfrey”. As mentioned our nation loves money and power so it is by no surprise the opening sentence into the article states “Oprah Winfrey, the first black woman to appear on Forbes billionaire...
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...BONUS CASE (from 2nd ed): HARPO It might very well surprise you to see the face of Oprah Winfrey here in this chapter on leadership. After all, Winfrey is an actress and television talk show host—isn’t she? Why yes, she certainly is, but she’s a lot more than that as well. Winfrey is recognized as one of the leading businesspeople in the country and stands firmly in control at Harpo (“Oprah” spelled backward), an entertainment and media company with $345 million in sales in 2008 and 410 employees. Winfrey currently ranks eighth in Fortune magazine’s list of the most powerful women in business. She also is one of only four women to have remained on the list since its inception in 1998. She’s proven to be an extremely shrewd leader and negotiator as chairperson of the organization she founded, earning the respect of not only those who watch her shows, read her magazine, listen to her radio channel, and purchase products that she endorses, but the employees of Harpo as well. As you’ll find in reading this chapter, Winfrey’s power at Harpo doesn’t come solely because she sits at the top of the organizational chart. Part of her power is celebrity driven, but this celebrity persona has been carefully managed and controlled by Winfrey herself. Winfrey owns every piece of her company: the content, the name brand, the studio, and all production facilities. One of her most important negotiating victories came in 1988, when she acquired the rights to syndicate...
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...The various forms of persuasive tactics are ideal for public leadership in effectively gaining and leading an audience. Public leaders have a great responsibility in effectively leading an audience, crowd or various forums to complete a goal. How the public leader interacts with potential followers can determine if and when a task will reach completion. The documentation below will cast some light into the various persuasive forms of leadership, followed by an evaluation of persuasive tactics used to facilitate change. As change is often met with resistance persuasive tactics are ideal. Two sources referenced as credible tactics are logical and transformational. The documentation includes two prominent public figures First Lady Michelle Obama and Billionaire Oprah Winfrey in reference to successful persuasive skills used to influence followers and votes. The information shared is from the perspective of a student. The intent is not to discredit the authors or public figures of any credit for works performed. * Persuasion Contrary to what people may believe, persuasion is healthy and rewarding! According to (Rusaw), transformational leaders use tactics to educate and inspire followers to achieve a completed goal or task. As differences in views may label persuasion as being manipulative, in leadership the task is warranted. Great public leaders possess skills and tactics for gaining supporters and followers that aid political forums and completion of task. The document...
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...Entrepreneurial Leadership Entrepreneurs are aggressive promoters for change in the world of business opportunities. Entrepreneurial leaders play a critical role in society by developing an idea, implementing it, and building a successful business based on it. The characteristics of seeking opportunities, taking risks beyond security, and having the tenacity to push an idea through to reality are hallmarks of successful entrepreneurs (Frye, 2009). The two leading entrepreneurs who will be addressed in this assignment were not necessarily born great, but achieved greatness through their business savvy and their resolute entrepreneurial spirit. The first entrepreneur is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah Winfrey revolutionized the talk show market with her unique and natural style and rose to become the host of the most watched daytime show on television, which at its height boasted 12 million viewers daily (Sellers, 2011). Her leadership ability and her business acumen make her an excellent example of a profit-oriented entrepreneur. The second entrepreneur is Ervin "Magic" Johnson. Mr. Johnson is renowned for his illustrious, 13-year career with the National Basketball Association, but he has redefined himself as a prominent businessman with the objective to revitalize and provide quality entertainment and services to neglected, urban communities in the United States (Burns, 2011) . As opposed to a business entrepreneur whose main objective is to reap financial rewards for his/her...
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...dismantled. With the bowels of the machine spread around the room, he began to understand for the first time the gap between what a computer user might want and what was actually available. That knowledge grew as he began to investigate the more powerful IBM PC. These machines were the future, he thought. "I didn't know how big the computer industry would become," Dell recalls, "I just thought it was an unbelievable opportunity. It was irresistible to me." PC's Ltd was born with $1,000 in capital and a simple question: how could Dell make the process of buying computers more efficient, more profitable? The prevailing wisdom back in the early 1980s was that in order for this new technology to penetrate the market quickly and effectively, computers should be sold through the existing retail network. For such a new and complicated product, this wasn't an ideal distribution system. Retailers weren't all that effective at explaining what all the bells and whistles actually did. And then there was the price. Dell knew from his bedroom tinkering that the parts which made up a $3,000 IBM machine were available individually for a fifth of the cost. He decided on a radical solution: cut out the middleman and sell factory-assembled machines direct to the masses. Going direct to the consumer meant building computers to order: in Dell's words, delivering "exactly what the customer wanted when they wanted it". That meant no wasted inventory sitting around in the warehouse (even in the early...
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...October 21, 2010 University of Phoenix Dr. Ewa Usowicz Management vs. Leadership Many people tend to think that management and leadership are similar. Good managers are not always good leaders. Managers usually can perform their management responsibilities successfully but not show that they are great leaders as well. To be able to lead effectively will allow a successful to stand out from the average ones. A manager deals with the everyday tasks of the organization such as planning, organizing, and controlling but when you are a great leader you are able to make effective changes within the workplace. Leading involves setting an example, direction and also creating a visual of the goals that must be met. Management involves organizing the structure of the company, hiring good people to complete the work, and also monitoring events and activities. Leadership keeps employees motivated to overcome obstacles and focus on building the organization towards its potential future. The typical manager tends to focus on the daily activities and short-term profits. They usually do things as they come along. This is fine if your goal is just to manage, but if you are looking advance and reach long-term goals then you must focus on being a leader to your subordinates. (Bateman) To be a great leader and manager you cannot have one without the other. Managers must perform their tasks or else the organization can become ineffective and unorganized. Leadership on the other hand involves special...
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...By Mashell Chapeyama Entrepreneurship education How the World Economic Forum aims to approach education The world economic Forum is a global organization that has a target of improving the welfare of all citizens of the world. According to this organization, entrepreneurship is a very important vehicle for achieving a better well-being of all people of the world. There are several ways in which the World Economic Forum wishes to achieve such a noble goal. One way it strives to achieve that is through some educational programs on the importance of entrepreneurship to the future generations of the world. Entrepreneurship is important for the well being of us all. So, the World economic Forum is initiating education on the importance of entrepreneurship and how to become successful business people. It wishes to be part of an international effort of encouraging entrepreneurship at all levels, from local, national, regional and global ones. World Economic Forum believes that through entrepreneurship the Millennium development goals will be achieved. The World Economic Forum aims to come up with ways to consolidate the existing education on entrepreneurship around the world. It wishes to uplift the practices that lead to better enterprising as well as assisting in the development of tools and methods of achieving better entrepreneurial skills, expertise and practices. This forum also aims at making sound and practical recommendations to governments, educational institutes and...
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...In the world there are a lot of people with all different types of characteristics. Some of those people open their own businesses, provide services and make money in doing so. Entrepreneurs of all different business industries carry a lot of the same types of characteristics. In fact, it is probably why they become successful in the first place, but people are motivated by different things which are what drives them in the first place. Some people are motivated by pure profits. Donald Trump is an example of this type of entrepreneur. He entered a business that he was very comfortable with in order to tap the market and make money. The other type of entrepreneur is one that makes money while serving their community. Oprah Winfrey is a perfect example of this type of entrepreneur. Her goal is to be socially responsible and puts her community service in front of money making. Although both of these people are rich and share similar characteristics, their business principals and leadership strategies are very different. Donald Trump was born into the real estate business. His father raised him in the lifestyle and prepared Trump with the tools he would need in order to be successful. When it comes to business Trump has a pretty straight forward out look on things. If it made him money he would dive in full force and once he took on a project there really was no stopping him until her reached his goals. Trump’s style was based off of his own intuition and charisma. “He has mastered...
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...Oprah, Obama, and the 2008 Democratic Primary Craig Garthwaite Department of Economics University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 Vmail: 202-746-0990 Email: cgarthwaite@gmail.com Tim Moore Department of Economics University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 Vmail: 301-442-1785 Email: moore@econ.umd.edu August 2008 Abstract Candidates in major political contests are commonly endorsed by other politicians, interest groups and celebrities. Prior to the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary, Barack Obama was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, a celebrity with a proven track record of influencing her fans’ commercial decisions. In this paper, we use geographic differences in subscriptions to O! – The Oprah Magazine and the sale of books Winfrey recommended as part of Oprah's Book Club to assess whether her endorsement affected the Primary outcomes. We find her endorsement had a positive effect on the votes Obama received, increased the overall voter participation rate, and increased the number of contributions received by Obama. No connection is found between the measures of Oprah's influence and Obama's success in previous elections, nor with underlying local political preferences. Our results suggest that Winfrey’s endorsement was responsible for approximately 1,000,000 additional votes for Obama. JEL Classification Numbers: D7; D72 We are grateful to Bill Evans for his comments and guidance. We also would like to thank Kerwin Charles, Allan Drazen...
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