Saturday, August 31, 2019

A meta-analytical review of the relationship between emotional intelligence and leaders’ constructive conflict management Essay

Conflict competent leaders Introduction                   The article examines the connection involving emotional intelligence and the ability of leaders to manage and resolve conflict positively. According to Schlaerth, Ensari, & Christian, (2013) understanding of effective conflict management is important traits for competent leaders that lead to constructive conflict management in organizations. Competent leaders are able to solve conflict in an organization due to their emotional intelligence. The trait helps leaders to understand their own emotions and those of other workers. The result is use of the most effective conflict resolution process and strategy that would ensure the success of the organization.                   Lack of ability to resolve conflicts constructively affects the relationship between the employees and the leadership. The result is poor performance in an organization, which is blamed on poor leadership. Therefore, the article acknowledges the roles of leaders in the conflict resolution. In addition, it evidences the importance of extraordinary ability to handle emotions in order to achieve constructive conflict resolution.                   Consequently, the article discusses the need of emotional intelligence for the non-leader workers in order to ensure constructive conflict resolution. The non-leader workers will help to reinforce strategies and process that are laid down by leaders to resolve the conflict constructively. Hence, the article tries to address the question about what of competent leaders in conflict management and resolutions. In addition, it points out the involvement of other workers in connection with leaders in order to achieve effective and constructive conflict solution. Reference Schlaerth, A., Ensari, N., & Christian, J. (2013). A meta-analytical review of the relationship between emotional intelligence and leaders’ constructive conflict management.  Group Processes & Intergroup Relations,  16(1), 126-136. Source document

Friday, August 30, 2019

HR strategy analysis: Smith Radiators, inc Essay

Smith Radiators, Inc. is undoubtedly one of the major players in the automobile industry, being a supplier of radiators to some major automobile suppliers. In fact, it supplies fifteen percent of the Auto of America, Inc. (AAI) demand for radiators in 1991, competing with five other major suppliers and some minor suppliers. On the side of Smith Radiators, AAI is their major customer. About thirty three million dollars of its sales during the early 90’s came from its partnership with AAI. Thus, Smith Radiators must take good care of the business partnership with AAI to maintain or further improve its financial stability. And this could be done if Smith Radiators could sustain and further improve the quality of its products and services. But a more challenging task appeared before Smith Radiators on April 20, 1991. AAI demands a major change to its company. Smith Radiators, being a partner of AAI for thirty years, is obviously affected by this. Due to recession, AAI decided to do some cost reduction but with sustainable quality improvement on its products and services and effective response to its customer needs. AAI will be shifting from its traditional way of purchasing supplies to the so-called just-in-time basis or the JIT. Some major changes using the JIT philosophy would be streamlined purchasing operations and few certified suppliers. On the part of Smith Radiators, this needs immediate attention. It cannot afford to lose its major customer. The president of Smith Radiators called for an emergency meeting with the company’s department heads to address the demands of AAI. Being a company that does not practice JIT that time, the president assumed that problems will arise upon adapting JIT onto their functional areas. Vice-presidents were asked to identify these problems. One of the vital areas to be taken in consideration is the workforce or the labor force. This is under the Human Resource Department. JIT would definitely affect the workforce. Currently, the recruitment process adapted by Smith Radiation is done by the so-called internal recruitment, wherein a prospective candidate will be recommended by a current employee. The candidates will undergo try-outs and interviews, and the successful candidates will be undergoing informal training with fellow workers and under the supervision of a foreman. The workers participate on this recruitment strategy because they earn some extra money if their recruits are accepted and could be able to work for two years in the company. With JIT, that would be a much different thing. The workers of Smith Radiators, like workers of other companies, also have their union. The union serves as the unified voice of the workers that answers, accepts, or contradicts issues that directly affect them. Even before the proposed JIT, the union has several conflicts with the management. The workers’ wage is in fact much lower relative to those working for competing companies. It is saddening that the workers agreed for this low wage for the sake of job security, which is a responsibility of the management. The management of Smith Radiators obviously takes advantage of this situation. They were able to save on their labor cost. On the other side, the job security is what’s important here, considering that most of the workers were high school drop-outs. Another issue is that women were not allowed to work in some of the areas, like those areas that use lead-based chemicals, where higher wage is given for the service. In my point of view, it is just right to ban women in this particular work, because their health will be at risk. This ban, I must say, is a commendable action of the Smith Radiators’ management. But the major concern of the union is that the company is overstaffed by twenty percent, and by the end of 1991, end of the workers’ contract, some of them might be laid off. As a result, workers were dissatisfied with their work. In fact, absenteeism became a habit to some or maybe majority of the workers. Considering all these issues or conflicts between the management and the workforce, it is expected that the vice-president for human resource spends most of his time dealing with the union’s concern, when in fact; some of his times could be used for brainstorming, structuring activities that could improve the working attitude and discipline among the workers. With the need to comply with the demand of AAI, Smith Radiation needs to do some changes especially on its management strategy. The goal is to get a certification to operate as AAI supplier, adapting JIT philosophy in their workplace. JIT depends on elimination of waste, total quality control, supplier participation, and employee’s participation on decision makings. The expected result of JIT would be shorter lead time in production, flexible manufacturing, reduced inventory, higher quality of products, and increased productivity. To be certified, four criteria must be met by Smith Radiation. First: quality of supplied parts. On the current system of Smith Radiators, considering the fact that the company does not provide formal training to their new worker, low quality of products will be produced. Generally, the company currently follows the defender type of strategy, wherein it stays in its comfort zones. Research shows that training and development are guaranteed to be needed at some point of the strategic growth process. And the current human resource department seems to overlook this aspect. But I appreciate the fact that the vice-president for human resource communicates with human resource officers from other companies that were able to practice JIT philosophy already. This is a good start. Smith Radiations could learn from the experiences of other companies and use these experiences as baseline for starting JIT. Second: frequent delivery. The AAI demands that two times per day will be the transfer of products from Smith Radiators. The vice-president for human resource might realize that he needs to train the workers work flexibly. Meaning, he must be multi-tasking for him to respond to sudden changes in the production schedule. This would be an effective move by Smith Radiators, wherein they could save from their labor cost, contrary to the current management practice where a worker is skilled only with a specific type of work. However, on the part of the workers, some of them might be laid off. The management may consider retaining only the most productive workers, and in return, providing them with better wages and development programs. But the good thing is that workers will be challenged to do better to retain their position. Third: reliability of delivery. Quality must come first. In JIT, the human resource department will train the workers to perform during critical decision makings. The worker must be able to inspect his own work. For example, during a process, if the worker sees that the product is out of specification, he can stop the whole process. And this could only be possible if the worker is fully knowledgeable with the basic technicalities of the process. On the part of the worker, this is a good opportunity not only to obtain a higher wage but opportunity to explore new knowledge and opportunity to practice responsibility. In addition to this quality issue and reliable delivery, the management, imploring JIT philosophy, discussions in round table as strategized by the vice-president of human resource is actually an effective way to obtain new ideas. This would be a perfect venue for the workers to communicate with their co-workers, supervisors, and if possible with the managers. These workers are the actual people that experience the process. They could have better ideas to explore changes in processes without sacrificing the quality of the products. The supervisor’s or foreman’s role on this part of the strategy would be to confirm the suggestions of the workers using scientific trials and experiments. Fourth: number of shipments received in exact quantities. Workers being multi-skilled, self-disciplined, group-oriented, and has good quantitative and diagnostic skills, there would be no doubt that Smith Radiators can comply with the demanded two shipments per day at ten radiators per shipment. Over-all, the strategy that is proposed by the vice-president for human resource comply with the goals of the company and supports the business strategy, the prospector business strategy, which aims to obtain certification, and in the long run, sustain its business partnership with AAI. The company, however, is expected to provide job security, fair wage, and respect to the workers. In essence, a strategy made by the human resource department must capture the â€Å"people element,† as it is called by an article in a reliable website, of what is intended to be achieved in the medium to a long run by an organization. According to Richard Chang, author of The Passion Plan at Work, HRM focuses mainly on HR Research and Information Systems, Union/Labor Relations, Employee Assistance, and Employee Compensation/Benefits. In the case of the Smith Radiators, the human resource department did a very great job!

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Intellectual Freedom Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intellectual Freedom - Speech or Presentation Example The librarian does not have the authority to remove works from a public library based on a private complaint, but there is a review and ratings process established by the ALA in 1986 to assist librarians with taking complaints on these types of censorship or moral objection issues. This rating system includes completing a Challenge Rating form that includes: â€Å"Expression of Concern. An inquiry that has judgmental overtones.† â€Å"Oral Complaint. An oral challenge to the presence and/or appropriateness of the material in question.† â€Å"Written Complaint. A formal, written complaint filed with the institution (library, school, etc.), challenging the presence and/or appropriateness of specific material.† â€Å"Public Attack. A publicly disseminated statement challenging the value of the material, presented to the media and/or others outside the institutional organization in order to gain public support for further action.† â€Å"Censorship. A change i n the access status of material, based on the content of the work and made by a governing authority or its representatives. Such changes include exclusion, restriction, removal, or age/grade level changes.† (ALA, 2011) The first level involves an expression of concern. The librarian can fill out the Challenge Rating form with the details of the citizen’s complaint and submit it to library management for review and forwarding to ALA central offices. If enough people do complain about a work, there is the possibility to start a wider review of the work by ALA and local library staff to determine if the minority claim has validity or merit. The expression of concern can be seen as a moderate questioning by the public member and the oral complaint represents an escalation to the formal registration of issues with library staff. In this instance, the librarian should explain the applicable ALA rules regarding complaints to the person, as well as the review system, taking the ir name, address, and contact information for further contact should the need arise. These details can be included on the Challenge Rating form for forwarding to the ALA central office as required or recommended by management staff. A written complaint gives the public individual the opportunity to submit a statement in his or her own words as to what exactly is found offensive or objectionable in the work, and should otherwise be collected with the contact information of the person filing the complaint with copies forwarded to library management staff and ALA central offices. In instances of formal written complaints, ALA may be able to recommend legal experts who can mediate between the local librarians and the parties making the claim. A public attack may involve media stories, letters to the editor, demonstrations, flyers, documentaries, or other forms of publicity that target a work or public library. These will be noted on the challenge form only in the direct involvement of t he local branch in the demonstration activity. In some instances, actual censorship may result in works that are deemed obscene or morally objectionable to the standards of the community. These can be both court ordered and ALA recommended censorship requirements that involve the

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Demand for Equal Airtime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Demand for Equal Airtime - Essay Example The essay "Demand for Equal Airtime" talks about the Donald Trump’s appearance and hosting of the Saturday Night Live- SNL show that has raised alarm among three other Republican presidential nominee hopefuls. Trump’s appearance has been observed as free publicity offered to the Republican presidential nominee front runner. There is need for all political candidates and opponents to get equal opportunities for airtime. This allows and enables for the notion of free and fair elections as prescribed in the constitution. All candidates should be equally endeared to the public in regards to publicity stints offered by non-news programs. Under the equal-time rule, US television and Radio broadcast stations are tasked to provide equal opportunity to any political candidate opponents who request it. The rule was created because the FCC believed that broadcast stations could easily influence elections results by showcasing just a single point of view while excluding other candi dates. The equal time rule does not apply to news interviews, documentary, on the spot news or a scheduled newscast. Therefore, the three republican presidential nominee hopefuls are well within their rights to demand and file requests for equal airtime as that accorded to Trump on SNL which is a non-news program. The three GOP hopefuls have exercised their right in a bid to gain free publicity as well as aim to increase their low poll numbers. Under the FCC’s ‘equal time rule’, if a candidate receives a minute on a non-news shot.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Documentary in Depth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Documentary in Depth - Essay Example This discussion borrows ideas from documentary theorists like Stella Bruzzi, Jonathan Kahana, Jane Roscoe and Craig Hight to name a few. The need to document ‘real’ events existed almost at the same time when motion picture as a medium of communication became an integral and quintessential part of human life. In its early stages, the primary intention and the subsequent benefit of recording a live action or event was the freedom it gave to have control over time, by either slowing it down, stopping it completely, or reversing it making the captured footage a substitute or an equivalent to a written document or text. This can be seen as early as 1900s when events like a prize fight or a surgery were captured on camera and stored as a valuable resource that could be used for future reference. The term ‘documentary’ has had a multitude of definitions and interpretations from various theorists at different points of time. According to Kahana ‘documentary h as been understood as a form of democratic and social pedagogy’ (2008, p.1) and he agrees with Paul Rotha’s theory that since movie making technology along with social contradictions tend to hide the truth in various circumstances, documentaries could be used to convey a deeper or hidden meaning (Kahana, 2008, p.1). Bruzzi agrees with Peter Weiss’ argument in his book â€Å"The Materials and the Models† that ‘the purpose of documentary form is to extract from the material universal truths, to supply a historical context and to draw attention to other possible consequences of the events encompassed by the play’ (2000, p.9). In other words, through his/her film a documentary film maker represents the social and political structure that exists around them, also giving an insight in to how it has evolved to its present form and what the future might hold. This can be considered a binary process, one in which the film maker derives his/her materia l from the socio political circumstances and delivers it back to society in its contextualised form. The film maker thus serves as a medium for the raw material to arrive at truths and conclusions, motives or inherent causes. In simpler terms, the film maker becomes the voice which speaks on behalf of the ‘raw material’ (i.e. the social, political and historical context). The primary drawback however, of this analysis is that it becomes futile if the film maker and the viewer have misinterpreted the original meaning of the event which means that the actual truth of the recorded event has not transpired to the mind of the film maker and in turn the viewer (Bruzzi, 2000, p.9). People have been generally led to believe that the camera captures only the truth. The reason why people trust documentaries is the simple fact that they claim to present the truth as it is with no element of drama or fiction. Hence it is something which anyone can relate to in terms of their own li ves and existence. Documentaries are supposed to depict the socio historical world in its purest and unpolished form. This would suggest that the images captured in a

Monday, August 26, 2019

Madison federalist 10 and 51 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Madison federalist 10 and 51 - Essay Example Such tendencies can have far-reaching repercussions in a human society because a specific group that commands the majority may try to exercise arbitrary control over the minority, favoring one class or faction and exploiting the others. Therefore, it becomes imperative on the government to have some system in place to control the damage caused by such factions. It is with this view that the constitution has been created. Thus one can argue that the constitution is designed to prevent the tyranny of the majority and to protect the rights of the minority. The Federalist Papers is a treatise on free government in peace and security, and written in support of the ratification of the Constitution. The Federalist Papers is written and compiled by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison under the pseudonym of â€Å"publius†. Madison believes that there are two ways to control a faction; one is to remove its causes and the second is to control its effects. He wishes to multiply the deposits of political power in the state itself sufficiently, to break down the sole dualism of rich and poor, and thus to guarantee both liberty and security. In Federalist 10, Madison predicts that the size of the United States and its variety of interests could be made a guarantee of stability and justice under the New Constitution. A verity of interest precludes forming of factions and the New Constitution, by safeguarding the interests of all parties irrespective of race, class or regional preferences, guarantees equality. In Federal 51, Madison holds that to ensure liberty to all, each branch should be, for the most part, independent and no one branch should have too much power in selecting members of the other branch. Madison also suggests that the best security against a gradual concentration of power in any one branch is to provide constitutional safeguards that would render such concentration difficult. Madison also observes that dividing power checks concentration of power

Sunday, August 25, 2019

International Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

International Management - Essay Example The present study would analyse the business strategies of Toyota Motors Corporation with regards to achieving global competence. The study would specifically analyse the product offering and product based strategies of the firm and how these have been used by the firm to gain global competitive advantage. The choice of the organization assumes significance considering the fact that Toyota is one of the most formidable brands of the world and has a significant market share in the global car market. The company has a product offering that tends to offer the best products to the customers. It also has operations spread around major consumer markets of the world and is known for its operational and manufacturing excellence strategies. Background About the Company Toyota Motors Corporation is one of the most reputed car makers of the world. The automobile behemoth was established in the year 1937 and is presently one of the most formidable brands of the world with its stocks listed on th e bourses of the US stock exchanges as well as Japanese stock exchange. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and has a capital worth 397.05 billion Yen as of 2010. The company has a total of 320,590 employees on active payroll as of March 2010. The main business area of the organization is in the areas of automobile production and sales. It has a multi product offering that helps in targeting a large number of market segments. The company is known for its innovations in product design and operational expertise that helps it to provide greater value to the customers (Toyota Motors Corporation, 2011). Product Portfolio Mix Toyota Motors Corporation is in the business of automobile manufacturing and sales and has a product offering that caters to almost all sections and segments. The company’s product offering includes cars that includes hatchbacks, sedans as well as luxury SUV’s, hybrid cars, trucks and commercial vehicles. The detailed products under the brand a re provided in the table below: Table 1: Product Offering of Toyota Motors Corporation Cars Models Category Price (US $) Â   Yaris Hatchback 13155 Â   Corolla Sedan 15900 Â   Matrix Hatchback 16700 Â   Camry Sedan 20195 Â   Prius Sedan 23520 Â   Sienna Minivan 25060 Â   Avalon Sedan 33195 Â   Â   Â   Â   SUV RAV 4 SUV 22475 Â   FJ Crusiser SUV 25790 Â   Venza Crossover 27125 Â   Highlander SUV 28090 Â   4Runner SUV 30305 Â   Sequoia SUV 40930 Â   Land Cruiser SUV 68920 Â   Trucks Tacoma Truck 16365 Â   Tundra Truck 24435 (Source: Toyota Motors Corporation-a, 2011) As evident from the table shown above Toyota has a very large product offering that helps it to cater to a large number of customer segments. The prices of the vehicles have been formulated in a manner that would help the firm to target a wide customer audience. On one hand there are highly priced SUV’s and hybrid vehicles as well as price friendly hatchbacks that help it to meet the demands of a large section of the customers. The company’s product strategy follows an innovative approach with focus on looks, design as well as engine capacities. The company has continuously modified its product offering with respect to the changing demands of the consumer audience. The company has made it a part of its vision to produce more hybrid and green vehicles that are environment friendly (Toyota

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Business Strategy - Essay Example It is high time for the business houses to develop efficient strategy, aligning with the changing scenario, so that they are able to sustain the changing times effectively. Primark has been a global name of repute in the clothing industry functional in Europe. It was in the year of 1969 that the first store of this leading clothing brand was inaugurated at Mary Street of Dublin in Ireland. The success of the first store led to establishment of four more stores with in a year with in the periphery of Greater Dublin. By 1971, the company had more than 15 stores in Ireland. In 1974, the group expanded to Great Britain with two high street stores in Derby and Bristol. By the end of the year 1984, the group had 44 stores, half of which were in Ireland and the other half in the United Kingdom. 1984 had been a remarkable year for the budgeted clothing group as it witnesses first multiple acquisitions by the group in lieu of five Woolworth stores (Primark, n.d.). A subsidiary of the Associated British Foods, Plc, Primark also have many other acquisitions, takeovers and mergers in its credit. In the year 1995, it acquired BHS One-Up Discount Chain and Co-Op which also included Reading Property. Among other notable acquisitions by Primark includes that of Littlewoods and six stores from Allders. Apart from the number of stores being opened in the Ireland and United Kingdom, the company ventured in to other European nations too. In 2006, Primark opened its first store in Madrid (Plenilunio) of Spain. It moved to Netherlands (at Rotterdam) in the year of 2008 and this year it has also entered in to Portugal (Lisbon) and Germany (at Bremen). Mission statement of a company defines the real motto of the organisation. In fact, it emphasises the very reason of existence of the company along with its future course of action. The mission, the vision and the objectives of the company also enables the share holders and other

TV Show Presentation Speech or Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

TV Show - Speech or Presentation Example It is time for the History Channel to produce its first original hour long dramatic TV series. The success of Roots back in the 1970s and the Tudors on Showtime today proves that there is an audience for a well-produced drama that engages with exciting history. It is our intention to produce for you a show that focuses like a laser on historical accuracy while also providing your audience with entertainment unlike they can find anywhere else. Some might call this show a soap opera, but do you know how Webster's defines a soap opera It is a serial drama chiefly characterized by tangled interpersonal situations. In other words, you could describe Desperate Housewives as a soap opera as well as William Shakespeare's Hamlet as a soap opera. The difference, of course, lies in the construction and the presentation. Was Buffy the Vampire Slayer not simply a soap opera with vampires And yet, today you can find college courses devoted to themes and philosophy of that show, as well as highly s killed academic papers. Call it a soap opera, or a historical drama, our show is guaranteed to draw viewers in with sex, violence, romance, backstabbing, politics, religions and some of the most infamous historical figures of all time. The title of our show tells it all: The Borgias.