ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction Leadership traits are the qualities and the features that characterize an effective leader making him/her outstanding from other leaders (Aurelius 1). They are the features that enable a leader practice strategic leadership in an organization and act as a role model for his sub-ordinates. The issue of leadership traits came to existence in the 1940’s in a survey carried out by Bird. Bird had an intention to identify various characteristics and traits that made up an effective leader. Bird carried out twenty different studies in which he identified seventy nine traits. Among these traits, only five percent were common for leaders. Some of the features that were complied by Bird include “intelligence, scholarship, responsibility, activity and social participation” (Geier 316). There are different leadership traits that are possessed by leaders that make leadership more effective in any organization. For example, honesty is considered the most important trait in effective leadership. When a leader is honest it becomes easy for him/her to win the approval of his/her followers. An effective leader should have emotional intelligence in order to control his/her emotions. The hospitality industry may at times require a lot of patience and self control since it mainly deals with customer relations. Again, an effective leader ought to inspire the people he/she is serves by the way he/she works, communicates and behaves. This may attract more clients to the business and may also motivate the staff to be more productive. It has been noted that people with inborn characteristics for leadership usual make excellent leaders (Perry 8). Ducker has expressed similar views that leaders with innate characters for leadership easily make great leaders. Leadership Leadership can also be viewed as the ability to influence followers towards achieving a common goal. Exerting influence on the followers can be accomplished by giving a sense of direction, alignment, commitment and then being able to agree collectively without violating their freedom (Velsor, McCauley & Ruderman 1). Some major characteristics of leadership in any organization that make a leader to be authentic include knowledge of history of the organization one is leading. Leadership requires that the leaders address the truth about the history of the organization they are representing. Discipline and competency is another core characteristic in leadership. A leader should carry out his/her duties honestly by for instance hiring t
History and Growth of GM General Motors was founded at the beginning of the twentieth century and initially they were the manufacturer of Buick- a motorcar with an internal combustion of engine and horse-driven vehicles. They gradually developed more auto cars and in 1916, Alfred P. Sloan who led the company to an unprecedented growth over the years owned it. GM grew up into a huge global corporation despite all the tribulations it went through. As GM is a gigantic conglomerate, it has several branches. GM has four organs for administration and reporting while GM North America (GMNA) had the largest sales. The GM maintained an overall percentage of 26 % to 28 % of all industries in this region. However, its profits fell in 2005, which was due to lesser quantity of products and an unfavorable product mix and it was the result of plant closures, changes in product liability and other major impacts on net income. In Europe, GM (GME) faced continuous losses amounting to US$ 1.0 bn by 2004 due to continued negative price pressures and unfavorable exchange rates. GM in Asia Pacific (GMAP) had good sales, here with a very good position in China. India and Thailand also yielded good earnings. GMAP showed very high net margin with about 10% in 2003 & 2004. GM in Latin America, Africa, and the Mid-east (GMLAAM) was unpredictable with losses in 2002 & 2003, mounting to profits in 2004. The net margin was higher in 2002, which fell to 0.4 % in 2003, which increased to 0.9% in 2004. The GMAC was the financial subsidiary of GM, initially introduced to finance GM operations. This section had continuous profits and gradually it grew up into a global financial company, offering mortgages and insurances. The total revenues from the financing & insurance operations showed a gradual increase, which was 31000 million in 2004 and a net income of 2800 million in both 2003 & 2004 but however, there were also some losses in some other sectors. The shares of GM and other American companies declined from 1990 to 2004, whereas shares of foreign companies rose and these led to restructuring. There was high competition and GM faced new challenges. Strengths and Weaknesses of GM The internal strengths of GM are market share, sales volume, performance of subsidiaries, labor force, financial strength, restructuring process and long experience, brand awareness in the US market, application of technology, and many other features. On the other hand, the external threats are Reduction of market share in the US market from 1990 to 2004, provision of North American Free Tread Agreement, operating expenses, excessive investment, and model of the cars, political factors, strategic decision, and stock performance. Strengths:   *
Fair Trade is a noble movement meant to support coffee growers due to their low share of the final price. However, despite the good intentions, it faces several challenges, most of which are evident at the retail level. Some appropriate Fair Trade to promote their goals, and the market situation was unstable for the time being. The movement itself is not perfect, only partially addressing the issue. This paper will discuss the symptoms and the precursors presented in the case and attempt to offer some recommendations. As mentioned, Fair Trade aims to help coffee growers, who are mostly based in developing countries, to obtain a bigger share of the final price. Approximately a half of it is distributed to roasters and shippers, leaving only a small percentage to actual producers. The movement attempts to bridge the gap between growers and retails and establish certain standards. While they appear to resolve some issues, it is still unclear how the income is impacted. Moreover, big corporations appropriate Fair Trade to improve the brand image, diluting its meaning, failing to explain the details, and increasing the prices in bad faith in the process. On the other hand, the movement threatens those not participating in it and only partially address the concerns of developing countries. Thus, multiple causes lead to the current state of affairs, which manifests in such symptoms as image laundering and premium pricing. As a retailer, one can address the problem in several ways. First of all, it is advisable to calculate whether decreasing the coffee price will be beneficial for growers due to an increased customer base in the long run. If the forecast is positive, the initiative is viable; otherwise, the focus should be on maintaining the existing buyers. Then, the Fair Trade production needs more transparency, which can be achieved by providing the necessary information on packages or separate stands. Perhaps, after convincing the consumer of the movement’s importance, they will be more receptive to pricing changes. Most importantly, the retailer should establish a relationship with growers directly and remove other elements from the supply chain, benefiting both parties. While the movement will still have issues, the ones on the wholesale level will be resolved, improving the producers’ financial gains and motivating them to enhance quality and adopt more roles than a grower.
Introduction The term “lifestyle” has not only become part of contemporary common sense but also is part of a contemporary consumer culture (Bell, and Hollows 5). The mass media tools that advertisers use include movies, magazines, internet, advertising radio, television and so much more. According to Wright et al., societies, communities and individuals are constantly bombarded with information, surveys and messages (74). Not only does this information promote products but also attitudes, moods and a sense of right and wrong. Media saturation has not always been this high. In 1970s, there were only a few television networks and most middle class homes did not have a TV set. The most common media of mass communication is the television. Research has shown that an average person in the United States spends 40% of his/her time watching television programs (Adams 118). Additionally, in 1990, the U.S Bureau of Census reported that 98% of all households in the U.S have television sets and that 76% of the total population spend time watching television programs especially during prime time. Most TV programs are aimed at impressing people irrespective of their age and incline their interests towards a certain product. Advertising The income of each radio, newspaper and TV station is proportional to the advertising it offers to the marketers (Pozo 59). Competition becomes intense as each newspaper fights for its stake in the industry. In light of th
The global economy slowed down in the year 2011 in a number of leading economies in the world. The Euro crisis that hit the continent brought about negative effects in the financial market. As a result, most of the countries considered tightening their tax regimes in order to raise adequate taxes to run the huge economy thereby threatening the consumers’ confidence (Deloitte 2013). The retail industry has experienced mixed performance across different economies. Australia and Singapore are examples of such economies with wide retail industries. The retail environment in Australia has been a miserable one for a long time. During the period of 2010 and 2011 alone, the retail real per capita declined to leave the economy in a mess (Deloitte 2013). Australia’s growth in retail sales has been slow in the preceding years; this slow growth rate is attributed to both the cyclical factors and changes in consumer buying habits. Consumers tend to spend a smaller share of their income on retail goods because, in the past, there had been a tendency among consumers to save more and spend the greater share of their expenditure on services like rent, finance and education (Productivity Commission 2011). On the other hand, Singapore has experienced a strong rate growth in terms of retail sales, with a nominal growth averaging 5.6 per cent in the period between 2004 and 2011. This is in line with the decline in consumer sentiments of 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis which contracted retail sales by 1.7 per cent. However, strong growth in retail sales was experienced in the year 2010 with a growth 6.8%. Currently, the nominal retail sales growth stands at around 6.1 as per the year 2011 (Holland 2012). It is important to note that productivity levels of the retail industry in both Australia and Singapore have been growing at slow rate compared to other countries in the pacific. Labor productivity estimates, as indicated in the statistical yearbook, 2011 demonstrates a sudden decline in the Singapore’s wholesale and retail productivity. This represents a decline of about 5percent during the given year (Productivity Commission 2011& Lee 2012). However, over the past two decades, the growth rate of productivity in retail has been similar to the average rate for nearly all Australian industries (Productivity Commission 2011). Therefore, in order to achieve productivity growth, the retailers have devised a method of increasing the capital intensity of their operations and adoption of information and communication technology (Productivity Commission 2011). Sales in different stores in Australia have not been well, this was evident especially in the past few years. Clothing retailers have seen an improvement in the retail sales. However, there has been a welcome rise in the sales of household goods; t
Introduction Major Facts of the Situation The major situation that IBM intends to deal with is critical social responsibility for the company. One of the facts of the situation is that apart from doing business to make profit, companies should fulfill certain social responsibilities since they exist for the benefit of their customers and the society in general. As a result, IBM should conserve the environment to achieve sustainable development through different strategies. At the same time, it should give back to the community by establishing special programs that benefit community members as well as supporting corporate social issues. Giving back to the community involves engaging in activities that ensure a company does not focus on making profits only, but also endeavors to use its resources to make a positive impact in the lives of community members. The other important fact of the situation is that the company should establish social responsibility programs in order to outdo its competitors in the market. Unless it develops such programs, then it would be difficult to deal with its competitors. The last fact of the situation is that IBM should deal with many competitors in market because it does not operate in a monopolistic environment. The Major Parties Involved in the Situation There are
What do you do to sustain your inner, spiritual life to avoid burnout from stress? Our everyday life creates numerous challenges to overcome and become stronger. However, very often, it becomes very difficult to cope with problems, anxiety, and stress in a short period. To improve the situation, the ideas about spiritual life, the possibility of “having a relationship with God…” that is “down deep in us, at the heart of things” (Vonderen, Ryan D, & Ryan J, 2008) become rather helpful. To sustain my inner spiritual life and avoid burnout from stress, I use my possibility to communicate with God any time I need. I know that He is not able to answer all my questions at once, but still, his hints fruiting the whole day impress me and encourage taking one more step. Sometimes, I turn on a CD with spiritual music or teachings about God that make me forget about the current affairs and all those problems around. What spiritual exercises or rituals do you regularly include in your daily schedule? My daily schedule is not rich enough because I am always so pressed for time. However, I never forget to thank God for one more chance to enjoy this life and spend one more day healthy. One more thing that makes my day complete is a smile. I never stop smiling at people around. All I want to do is to be kind to people and believe that these people will be also kind to me. Though our world is not perfect, spiritual hope is one more chance to improve something in our life. On weekends, I prefer to visit a church and think about my actions, thoughts, and relations with people. I get a good chance to evaluate all my life and discover how to improve it. Truth and forgiveness are somewhere high above, and a church helps mortals achieve these peaks from time to time. What other resources or traditions have
Introduction Friendship is one of the most precious things we have in our life. There is a strong necessity in someone, who would support, assist, give an advice, or lend some money at least. This could be only a close friend. It is often hard to find real friend in the modern life, as people often pretend, become insincere, etc. So it becomes not an easy task to discover a friend out of all this insincerity and hypocrisy. Value that is stated in friendships is frequently the result of a friend showing the following on a steady ground:   * Trust   * Honesty   * Sympathy   * Mutual understanding What Friendship Is First of all, I would like to mention, that introducing somebody as a “friend” converses more promise to what one possibly mean applying this word. It takes time for somebody to call another person a friend, and if it happens, these two persons become the participants of each other’s intimate circles of communication. For me, friendship is one of those unusual things which fit in the temple. But one is not aware of that type of friendship; it is necessary to study it. Friendship is a great skill. Love has an original instinct behind it; friendship has no original instinct behind it. Friendship is a matter of consciousness; love is absolutely unconscious. As far as I can judge, a friendship is probable only between two open souls. Then one is open to the other, tempting to the other, then one is constantly an incitement. How can people be friendly? If ego is on the first place there is no credibility of friendship. This way friendship becomes just a mask. To my mind, the original character of life is like a jungle: the big animal eats the smaller one. Even if one pretends to be friendly, in jungle (within people with ego on the first place) it looks like show, coldblooded tactics, or at least diplomacy. No one can be a friend unless ego evaporates. Once ego is taken off, the entire life has an excellence of friendship. Then people become friendly, friendly to everybody, as nothing else matters. How friendship is Significant for Me Friendship is regarded to be the purest love. It is the peak form of love where nothing is required, any situation, where one just enjoys helping and offering assistance. One obtains much ‑ but that seems insignificant, and that happens of its own agreement. Friends never own each other. The most essential thing in friendship is to provide entire freedom to the friend to be himself. There is a faith, there is no requirement to control or dominate; there is no necessity to bind a friend by circumstances. Actually, only trust joins two friends
Abstract This report entails an analysis of leadership and change in Manchester City Football Club. The report assesses the transformation that the football club has undergone since its inception in the 1800s to its current position. The report is organised into a number of sections. The first section entails a brief introduction, which provides an analysis on the high rate of commercialisation in the football industry. The organisational changes that have been implemented such as change in club ownership are highlighted. The second section entails a literature review on leadership and organisational change. This section also evaluates the change management cycle that organisational leaders should take into account in the process of implementing change. The third section entails an analysis of Manchester City Football Club and the transformations that have occurred since its takeover in 2008. The most applicable leadership theory to the case is also identified and explained. Finally, a conclusion and a number of recommendations on what the club’s management team should do in order to improve the club’s long-term survival and sustainability are highlighted. Introduction Most people perceive sports as a way of spending their leisure time, while others consider it as a business. Football ranks amongst the highly commercialised sports in the world. Different football clubs have been established in the European region since the 1850s. The transformation into business can be traced back into the 1850s when football clubs started to compensate their players financially. Subsequently, football clubs moved from being mere sporting associations into businesses. Nash (2000, p.465) holds that the ‘rate of commercialisation increased during the 1980s, as evidenced by the high rate of involvement by business institutions and corporations into the industry’. Currently, football is considered as an international business. Subsequently, the industry is experiencing huge investments. In 2003, Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire, bought Chelsea Football Club for US $233 million while a Qatari billionaire bought Paris Saint German. Similarly, Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan bought Manchester City Football Club. The commercialisation of most professional football clubs has led to an increment in the clubs’ revenue. Some football clubs have lost their organisational culture due to commercialisation. Some football club supporters are not pleased with the high rate of commercialisation in the football industry. Nash (2000, p.469) asserts, ‘some supporters have shown their discontent and have contested the fast changing state of modern football’. This report evaluates the changes that have occurred in Manchester City Football Club since
There has never been a period in the history of humanity without victimization of some category of people. Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird is an example of different types of victimization. There are two characters, each of which is not welcome by society in some way. Discrimination against Tom Robinson is based on the man’s race. Meanwhile, Boo Radley is not accepted by the majority due to his eccentricity. These two characters are connected because to some extent, both of them are not understood by others. Two major similarities about Tom and Boo are that they are innocent and their only problem is differentness. Tom is unlike the majority because he is “a colored man” (Lee 295). Boo’s differentness is in his solicitude and appearance: his teeth are “yellow and rotten,” his eyes “popped,” and he is very tall (Lee 20). As a result of such non-standard features, both characters suffer. Even though they have not done anything wrong, Boo and Tom are treated with prejudice and damnation. What concerns innocence, Tom’s greatest problem is that he is black while his accuser is white. The woman puts Tom’s “life at stake” to “get rid of her own guilt” (Lee 275). Boo also has not done anything wrong: he is sincerely kind to the children who manage to initiate communication with him. Despite similarities, there are also divergent features in the two characters. First of all, it is the race of the two men. As can be seen from the storyline, skin color can cause much mistrust and judgment. Secondly, the lives Tom and Boo lead have a different level of openness. The townsfolk know some things about Tom and his family. Meanwhile, Boo’s lifestyle is secluded: he only goes out “when it’s pitch dark” (Lee 19). Therefore, both skin color and divergent lifestyles constitute disparities among the two “mockingbirds.” Still, despite these dissimilarities, both men experience the same level of hostility from others. Although Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are two very different characters in To Kill a Mockingbird , they are both mockingbirds because society refuses to accept them as they are. Through the characters’ actions and lives, readers can learn about the unfair treatment of people based on prejudiced views and about objective and fair people ready to defend others’ rights. Both characters are important because they teach the reader how a corrupted character can lead to destroying someone’s life. Along with this, Tom and Boo are examples of how one should defend one’s uniqueness and views. The book by Harper Lee discusses many crucial life problems. The author explains that victimizing a weak member of society should not be justified. Work Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird . McIntosh and Otis, 1988.