Why do Successful Companies Fail

Why do Successful Companies Fail Why do Successful Companies Fail? Essay: Why Do Successful Companies Fail? Introduction The most important thing any business should get motivated to is the ability to make profits. If the business is not directed to reaching that goal, it heads to fail. If the business is directed to make that move, it should concentrate on the things that make it raise profits. Every successful business has goals, vision, mission and strategies to drive it to the goals and achievements (Zoss). If the business changes its organization culture, it will finally fail to acclimatize to the new culture and fail. Abandoning the set plan to help the company achieve its goals is the surest way to make the company fail because the plan has the conventions that drive the business. In the plan, many factors are considered from the top management to the subordinates (Adams 24). The employees are the instrument that help the business achieve its goals. If they are not respected, they will be not motivated and stop being assertive to work for the achievement of the company. Lack of team work in the business means that there is disintegration and people are not focused in achieving one goal. Most of the companies stagnate because the feel contented about their position sand fail to work harder and fail to expand their clientele. This results to unachieved goals in the business (Zoss). If the leaders do not delegate duties, they get overwhelmed by work and this slows the speed of achieving the goals in the company hence the failure of the business. Authoritative leadership with not delegation only overworks the head and leads to the employees becoming negatives about the management. This slows the rate of achievement hence a failed business (Adams 25). High turnover of workers is an indication that they are not contented with the company management. They resign and, the business trains other workers. Before the new employees understand the rule of the company, there is a slowed rate of achieving targets which may lead to a failed business. Businesses which do not have mechanisms of checking their achievements through strategic management end up failing because there is laxity when employees are not monitored. Rewarding the employees motivates them because they feel as stakeholders rather than instruments of achieving goals in the company (Zoss). If this is not done, employees fail to deliver their all and bring down the company to non performance. It is a gradual process where targets are not reached and, it transcends to truancy of employees and finally underachievement which leads to the collapse of the business (Adams 25). Failure to consult experts in business is one way that leads the business to fail because it is difficult hard to operate a business with orthodox strategies in the wave of globalization. If a business does not embrace technology, for instance use of the World Wide Web, it is bound to fail due to the competition in the market. Encouraging fraudsters in the business make the company lose a lot of money which affects the running capital (Adams 24). It is imperative to treat strangers with the utmost care for one never knows what they might do. If a business does not have a SWOT analysis, it is difficult to know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the market and business. This leads to blind operations without a specified goal to achieve. This leads the company to gradual collapse because it does not move in any given direction (Zoss). You can get custom essay writing help from our professional writing service. Our writers will write a custom paper on any Business topic for you!

These Are the Hardest AP Classes and Tests for You

These Are the Hardest AP Classes and Tests for You SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Thinking of signing up for AP classes? Want the greatest possible challenge? Or are you trying to avoid biting off more than you can chew? In this post, we’ll explain what makes an AP class hard, list the hardest AP classes, and help you prepare for them. What AP Passing Rates Tell Us You might think that the best way to tell which AP classes are the hardest is to look at the national data about how many students pass each test each year. We’ll start our discussion here, but beware that the passing rates don’t automatically tell you which classes are hardest. Want to get a perfect 5 on your AP exam and an A in class? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. This a complete list of passing rates on each AP exam with the most recent (2019) data. Exam Name Passing Rate (3+) Studio Art: Drawing 91.1% Spanish Language and Culture 89% Chinese Language and Culture 88.3% Studio Art: 2-D Design 86.4% Calculus BC 81.5% Physics C: Electricity Magnetism 81.1% Seminar 80.7% French Language and Culture 76.7% Research 76.2% Japanese Language and Culture 75% Computer Science Principles 72.7% Spanish Literature 71.9% Physics C: Mechanics 71.1% German Language and Culture 70.5% Studio Art: 3-D Design 70.1% Computer Science A 69.9% Microeconomics 68.4% Gov. and Politics - Comparative 66.2% Biology 64.6% Italian Language and Culture 64.6% Psychology 64.4% Art History 63.9% Physics 2 63.5% Music Theory 63.4% Latin 63.1% Statistics 59.2% European History 58.4% Calculus AB 58.3% Macroeconomics 57.9% World History 56% Gov. and Politics - United States 55.2% English Language and Composition 55.1% Chemistry 54.6% United States History 54.3% English Literature and Composition 50.1% Environmental Science 49.6% Human Geography 49.1% Physics 1 44.6% Source: College Board. For language rates, "Total" includes all students, while "Standard" includes only those students who didn't indicate they speak this language at home or spent more than four weeks studying it abroad. You might be tempted to look at this table and say the tests with the lowest passing rates are hardest, and the ones with the highest passing rates are easiest. After all, if not many students can pass an AP test, doesn’t that mean it’s one of the hardest tests? But when you look at the data, the exams with the highest passing rates (Chinese, Spanish, Calculus BC) are often considered among the hardest. We're not including AP Seminar and the AP Studio Art scores in this assessment, since those grades are all portfolio-based, rather than exam-based. Meanwhile, some of the tests with the lowest passing rates (Human Geography, US Government and Politics, Environmental Science) are often seen as the easiest. So what’s going on here? The truth is, the national passing rates often say more about the students taking the exams rather than the exams themselves. Some of the exams with low passing rates have those low rates because they are often taken in freshman/sophomore year, while some of the exams with high rates have more stringent prerequisites at many high schools. This means that the harder exams tend to have older, better-prepared students taking them, which raises their pass rates. In short, we have to look beyond national passing rates when figuring out which tests are the hardest. A Possibly More Reliable Indicator: 5 Rate Since pass rates don’t actually tell us much, what about the 5 rate? Remember, a 5 is the highest possible AP score (read more about AP scores here). Shouldn’t we be able to find the hardest AP tests by looking at the exams with the lowest 5 rates? Below is a table with all the AP exams, this time ranked by the percentage of test-takers who got a 5. Exam Name 5 Rate Chinese Language and Culture 57.2% Calculus BC 43.2% Japanese Language and Culture 38.2% Physics C: Electricity Magnetism 35.9% Physics C: Mechanics 34.6% Computer Science A 27% Spanish Language and Culture 24.9% Microeconomics 22.2% Gov. and Politics - Comparative 22.2% Studio Art: 2-D Design 21% Music Theory 20.9% Studio Art: Drawing 20.8% Psychology 20.2% Calculus AB 18.9% German Language and Culture 18.4% Macroeconomics 17.6% French Language and Culture 15.5% Statistics 14.5% Computer Science Principles 13.6% Latin 13.1% Gov. and Politics - United States 12.9% Physics 2 12.6% United States History 12.1% Art History 12% Italian Language and Culture 11.8% European History 11.7% Research 10.8% Chemistry 10.7% Human Geography 10.7% English Language and Composition 10.1% Studio Art: 3-D Design 10.1% Environmental Science 9.5% Spanish Literature 9.1% World History 8.7% Biology 7.1% Seminar 6.8% English Literature and Composition 6.2% Physics 1 6.2% Source: College Board. For language rates, "Total" includes all students, while "Standard" includes only those students who didn't indicate they speak this language at home or spent more than four weeks studying it abroad. The 5 rate, in fact, a decent way to spot some difficult exams, including AP English Literature and Biology. They both have very low 5 rates (7.1 for Bio, 6.2 for English Lit). But on the flip side, a relatively easy exam, AP Environmental Science, has a low 5 rate of 9.5%. Furthermore, some decidedly hard exams, like Chinese, Calculus BC, and Physics C, have very high 5 rates- up to 57%+ for Chinese! In other words, just looking at 5 rates doesn’t tell the whole story, though some other articles have assumed that. This is why the best way to find the hardest AP exams is to focus on the ones with the most material to cover- as well as the most conceptually difficult topics, which we will do below. Disclaimer: Take Into Account Your School’s Variation Before we talk about which classes are the hardest, we want to clarify we mean the ones with the most difficult course material and hardest end-of-year exam. There is enormous variation in how the same AP class can be taught at different high schools, so we can't speak to the specific class difficulties at your high school. It may be there is an AP class at your school that is known as the most difficult since the teacher is really tough, even though nationally it might not be considered one of the easiest. Or maybe there is an AP class at your school most students see as a joke, even though the material is still very difficult. Since we can’t report on the specifics at different high schools, we are focusing on which classes have the most/hardest material to cover and have a reputation for difficulty at multiple schools. We’ll discuss below ways to explore how hard AP classes are at your school specifically so you can build an optimal schedule. Any AP class Professor McGonagall teaches would likely be super hard. Okay, Seriously, Which AP Classes Are the Hardest? United States History, Biology, English Literature, Calculus BC, Physics C, and Chemistry are often named as the hardest AP classes and tests. These classes have large curriculums, tough tests, and conceptually difficult material. We put together this list based on personal experience, online chatter, passing rates, 5 rates, and looking at their curricula in depth. We are not ranking these since their difficulty will vary quite a bit based on the student. For example, if you're a math whiz, Calculus BC will likely be easier than AP English Literature. But the opposite could be true for another student. But if you’re considering any of these, be prepared for a tough course! AP US History Even though most students are exposed to American History multiple times, beginning in elementary school, AP US History is still a very tough class. First of all, this is a harder history exam than AP World History or even AP European History, since it covers a narrower span of history and a smaller geographical area, meaning the curriculum is incredibly detailed. This means you can’t rely on general trends and observations like you can sometimes in World History- you have to know specific dates, movements, people, and laws. To take a small example, in a world history class, you might need to know that slavery ended in the United States during the Civil War. For a US history class, you would need to know the dates of the civil war, the exact year of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the dates and content of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. You would also be expected to know about the major leaders and law-makers involved. The more detail you can remember, the better! This is because APUSH is known for having a very difficult multiple-choice section that requires a very detailed knowledge of US History from the pre-Columbian era up to the present day. Also, the more concrete evidence you can include in your free responses, the better essay scores you will get. If you have a knack for history, this class will be easier for you, but most students report it’s very challenging. It’s also likely to be a hard class to pass at many schools because teachers have to assign tons of reading and assignments to get through all the material before the AP test in May. Expect a fast-moving, assignment-heavy course. You can read College Board's full description here. If you think this is a figure from American History, you might want to consider fitting AP US History into your schedule. AP Biology This is a tough class and test, any way you slice it. Even with the redesign back in 2012, which was meant to make AP Biology more accessible and less memorization-heavy, you still have to memorize tons of material for the test, everything from super detailed chemical processes (Krebs Cycle, anyone?) to cell biology to evolution. This means AP Biology teachers have to pack a ton onto their syllabi for this class, including time for experiments. The huge volume of info, coupled with the fact that Biology can be conceptually difficult, makes this a tough AP course. If you have taken a strong prerequisite Intro to Biology course, this test will be more manageable. Check out a full course description here to learn more. AP English Literature Along with AP US History, this is one of the hardest AP courses in the humanities. While AP English Language is also challenging, Literature requires reading texts that are generally more difficult. Compare, say, AP English Literature staple Crime and Punishment to a non-fiction article about the criminal justice system you might read in AP English Language. Crime and Punishment is much more difficult! AP English Literature also tests more specific rhetorical/literary terms and requires you to have a more fine-tuned ability to close read a passage. You’re not just looking for the overall argument or effect like you are in AP English Language. You have to go under the hood and explain in detail how a piece of literature works. Finally, for AP Literature, you have to come prepared to write one of the essays about a book or play you read in class, but you can't actually bring the book or play with you to the exam. This means you have to study what you read in AP Literature very closely. So closely that you could write about a book, and even use quotes from it, without having the book with you! SparkNotes summaries won't cut it. In short, expect a longer and harder reading list, tougher multiple-choice questions, and more accountability for what you read in class. You can read the full College Board description of the test here. AP Chemistry Similar to biology, chemistry has a ton of material, lots of memorization, and requires a solid conceptual understanding of complicated chemical processes. AP Chemistry is known at many high schools for having tons of homework and tough tests- all necessary for students to learn enough to pass the AP exam at the end of the year. Don't attempt AP Chemistry unless you have already taken an introductory chemistry course. It would be impossible to learn everything you need to know about chemistry for the AP exam in just one year. You can read AP’s full course description here. AP Physics C Physics C is especially tough because not only are you learning physics material, which can be hard, you also need to know calculus alongside it. While AP Physics 1 and 2 are algebra-based, both Physics C courses (Electricity Magnetism and Mechanics) are calculus-based, meaning students need to know calculus well enough to apply it in physics. Some consider it â€Å"two classes in one† due to the necessary calculus knowledge. Furthermore, the material tested in Physics C is much more in-depth than Physics 1 or 2 (or the old Physics B). Physics C courses go into a great amount of depth about a few topics, while Physics 1 and 2 cover many topics with less depth. So just as US History is harder than World History, Physics C is tougher than Physics 1 and 2 because you need a greater depth of knowledge. Because of this, you should definitely have a physics prerequisite under your belt before taking Physics C, and you should have either already taken calculus or be taking it at the same time. You can read about Physics C at the course home pages for Electricity and Magnetism and Mechanics. AP Calculus BC Finally, AP Calculus BC is the toughest AP math exam, if not one of the hardest AP exams period. AP Calculus AB is also challenging, but covers less material and moves more slowly. AP Calculus BC often covers everything taught in Calculus AB in just the first semester of school- revealing one reason why it’s so hard: intense pacing. You move fast in Calculus BC, which means you need to be prepared to keep up. There is not a lot of time to be lost in this class. If you struggle with a concept at the beginning of the year, it can make it harder to learn everything after that. In fact, if you find yourself struggling, seek out extra help from the teacher or a tutor as fast as you can so you don't fall behind. In some schools, Calculus BC requires an extra period in the day to fit in all the material before the AP exam. You also get into more conceptually difficult calculus topics than Calculus AB. In short, be prepared to work very hard and be vigilant about keeping up with the course. You can read College Board’s description here. Want to get a perfect 5 on your AP exam and an A in class? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. Note on Language AP Exams You may be wondering how hard the AP language tests are- after all, you can take AP tests in languages from Chinese to Spanish to French. The difficulty of these is a bit tougher to quantify, since AP Language exams test multiple years of learning a language, as opposed to one year of material. For students with tons of foreign language knowledge these can be incredibly easy exams. If you’ve lived abroad or are fluent in a language, the AP language test will not pose much of a challenge. (Some students who are native speakers of a language will even take an AP language exam!) But for students who have just been taking a language in school, these exams can be difficult, particularly the listening portions. So if you’re thinking about an AP Language class, think about how many years of past experience you have. For example, if you’ve taken French for four years, you’re probably well-prepared for AP French. But if you’ve only taken it for two years, you will probably struggle. Most schools have pretty stringent prerequisites for AP language classes for this reason. Action Steps If you want to take any of these classes, you need to get info about the class at your school. Although they are all objectively difficult, there can be huge differences in how the classes are taught and graded. Ideally, these classes should be taught by excellent teachers who can not just teach the material clearly, but include plenty of review and AP exam practice. You should also think about your own strengths and weaknesses, and how well a tough AP class will fit into your schedule. Even though all of these AP classes have tough material, the difficulty of the class might vary from school to school. The class itself could be incredibly difficult (lots of assignments, reading, and hard tests)- and you should be prepared for that. However, the class could also be easy (not very many assignments, easy tests), meaning you will have to put in a lot of work on your own to be ready for the AP test. Knowing what the class’s workload is like, and how that prepares you for the exam, is crucial to being prepared once May arrives. If the class is easy and you don't actually learn the material, you could fail the test despite getting good grades in the class. The bottom line here is that you’ll have to work very hard to succeed in any of these classes. But that work could come at the behest of a teacher or from your own willpower. If you don't think you're learning the material well enough in class to pass the test, consider getting a prep book and studying on your own in the second half of the year. Get Info About a Class To get info about an AP class, first talk to your guidance counselor. Ask for the class's syllabus, the class’s passing rate on the AP exam for the last few years, and what other students tend to say about the class. This will give you an idea of how well-taught a class is. Your guidance counselor can also recommend good prerequisite classes and teachers. Next, speak to the teacher if you can, or speak to a teacher you have who teaches the prerequisite class (for example, the Honors Biology teacher if you’re thinking about AP Biology). The teacher can give you a sense of what the workload is like, what they expect of their students, and how much work they expect students to do on their own. Finally, find out what the word of mouth for the class is at your school by talking to older students. Don't rely too much on any one person's opinion, because students can exaggerate, but look for general trends. For example, if everyone says that AP Biology is really hard but they learned a lot and passed the AP exam, that's a sign the class is worth taking. Think About Your Strengths If you tend to do well in a subject, you will likely do well in a corresponding AP class, even if it's one of the hard ones. For example, even though AP Biology is hard, if you’ve done well in previous science classes, have a knack for memorization and critical thinking, you might be better prepared for AP Biology than, say, AP European History, even though that’s not seen as one of the hardest AP classes. On the flipside, if you really struggle with something- like writing or math- you need to be extra careful about taking a tough AP class like AP English Literature or AP Calculus BC. We’re not saying to avoid those classes if you think you might have a hard time. We are saying to be prepared to spend lots of time studying! Think About Your Overall Schedule How well you do in a hard AP class could also depend on your schedule. For example, AP Biology might be more feasible your sophomore or senior year since you won’t be worrying about the ACT/SAT. However, if you take it junior year, you might have a hard time balancing ACT or SAT studying with the AP Biology class. Also consider other classes, your extracurricular commitments, work schedule, and family commitments before signing up for any of these AP classes. You don't want a tough AP class to overload an already busy schedule. Along the same lines, do not feel pressured to overload on AP classes in general. More is not necessarily better, even if there is pressure at your school to take 5 AP classes in one year. It’s better to get two 4s than four 2s! And it's better to take AP classes that are interesting and meaningful to you. What’s Next? Find out about the flipside of this discussion, the easiest AP classes. Also read about how many AP classes you should be taking total. Also studying for the ACT/SAT? Come up with a target ACT or SAT score based on your top schools. When’s the ideal time in your high school career to take the ACT/SAT? Find out here. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Microtubules Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Microtubules - Essay Example Microtubules are polymers that have elongated tube-like monomer chains. These chains are helical like. ÃŽ ±-ÃŽ ²tubulin subunits make up the helical tube that has 13 protofilaments that are aligned in a parallel way. The subunits enable the tube-like monomers to link with each other using vertical and lateral bonds. The ÃŽ ±-tubulin domain bind to the ÃŽ ²-tubulin domain forming these bonds. Hence, the mechanical strength of the microtubules is enhanced. The Microtubule Organizing Centre mediates the nucleation of the microtubules. It comprises a ring complex of ÃŽ ³-TURC and ÃŽ ³-tubulin (Atkinson, 2014, 5870). The specific ring complex serve as the template of the 13 subunits of the microtubules. Microtubules grow from the minus to the positive side. The minus side is located at the centrosome. The growth occurs towards the outer region to the cortex. The overall characteristic of the microtubules is the propensity for dynamic instability. Thus, the microtubules can shrink and grow randomly. The characteristic is associated with loss of the â€Å"GTC-cap. The loss is produced as new subunits are added. There is an ATP unit that is located in the ÃŽ ²-tubulin part of the microtubules. The ATP unit goes through hydrolisation as the filament grows (Alieva, 2014, 670). There is a disadvantage to this growth. If the hydrolisation is more rapid than the rate of the addition of monomers, it compromises the microtubule. There is a GDP bound type of the ÃŽ ²-tubulin that has a higher dissociation energy in comparison to the one that is bound by the ATP. It makes it more energetic for the microtubule de-polymerization. Hydrolisation enables the formation of ADP. It raises the likelihood of the microtubules being spoilt. They can be spoilt through reduction in the length and de-polymerization. The speed of spoilage of the microtubules is influenced by factors like proteins that bind along their

Impact of developing technology on the retail industry Research Paper

Impact of developing technology on the retail industry - Research Paper Example The focus is on improving competitiveness and taking advantage of the available opportunities. The need for shops is increasingly becoming obsolete with the changing technological trends. Online systems have led to the creation of virtual shops that are slowly replacing the convectional shopping centers. This trend is expected to increase with the future predicting a possible phase off for shops. This revolution has been experienced in several sectors, Apple was one of the corporations that championed this paradigm shift through online marketing and use of its applications. Many record shops have been closed in the near past because of the changing patterns in buying of movies and music as initiated by Apple. Purchase of music online has become so prevalent not only in the United States and in Canada but in other countries including the underdeveloped countries. This trend is gaining popularity in the sale of books, Amazon, eBay among others continue to expand for the convenience and efficiency that they give to their customers. Competition has enhanced advancement across the retail markets worldwide. Technology has been the central focus for many retail outlets. Despite the fact that most of the retailers are still on profit, their margins continue to decline. This has prompted a game change that has helped them keep ahead of competition. Home Depot, a company that deals with selling household items has been able to adopt technological changes. The company developed a mobile application that not only did it enhance the customer experience but also facilitated the associates in taking inventory. The company and its customers have received this strategy with a lot of optimism. Competitiveness has also facilitated research in strategies that are predicted to enhance sales as well as increase the customer base. The pressure from competition will force the optimization of the supply chain in order to provide a better customer experience as well as remain on a profi t-making trend. The number of physical stores is expected to dramatically reduce. The so called ‘brick and mortar’ establishments are likely to remain but technological change has to be coupled with the change. However, the change will come with a drastic reduction in these outlets. Another phenomenon expected to be coupled with the reduction in the number of stores is the reduction in their sizes. The main reason for this is the increased business online capable of enhancing the decisions to lease, facilitating merchandising plans and transforming the physical layout. With the reduction of the physical locations and the size of the premises, diversification is of great essence (Sohl, 2012).. The retail market can divert its activities online as well as diversifying to the other areas of the product supply chain. In addition, they can result to offering services. Technology will facilitate the retailers to refocus on customer loyalty while enhancing closeness with the c ustomers. Loyal customers will keep on buying fro the same retailer irrespective of the change. However, in order to facilitate their shopping experience it is obligatory that they keep abreast with change, even loyal customers deserve quality and efficient services. Despite being top on the retail of household items, Home Depot developed a mobil

Ethical Leadership in Organizations Essay Example for Free

Ethical Leadership in Organizations Essay Ethical leadership is leadership that is involved in leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others. As leaders are by nature in a position of social power, ethical leadership focuses on how leaders use their social power in the decisions they make, actions they engage in and ways they influence others. Leaders who are ethical demonstrate a level of integrity that is important for stimulating a sense of leader trustworthiness, which is important for followers to accept the vision of the leader. Leaders who are ethical are people-oriented, and also aware of how their decisions impact others, and use their social power to serve the greater good instead of self-serving interests. Motivating followers to put the needs or interests of the group ahead of their own is another quality of ethical leaders. Motivating involves engaging others in an intellectual and emotional commitment between leaders and followers that makes both parties equally responsible in the pursuit of a common goal. Ethical leadership falls within the nexus of inspiring, stimulating, and visionary leader behaviours that make up transformational and charismatic leadership. Ethical leaders assist followers in gaining a sense of personal competence that allows them to be self-sufficient by encouraging and empowering them. What is Ethical Leadership? One typical response to the â€Å"ethics crisis† in business is a clarion call for more â€Å"ethical leadership,† yet there are few explanations of what exactly is meant by the term. Many executives and business thinkers believe that ethical leadership is simply a matter of leaders having good character. By having â€Å"the right values† or being a person of â€Å"strong character,† the ethical leader can set the example for others and withstand any temptations that may occur along the way. Without denying the importance of good character and the right values, the reality of ethical leadership is far more complex and the stakes are much higher. Over the past 25 years, in talking to executives in a number of industries about the problems of how to lead in a world of great change—globalization, democratization, and incredible technological advances—we have identified a number of touchstones for the idea of â€Å"ethical leadership.† Our experience is often contrary to the picture of business executives one finds in public discussion where they are often seen as greedy, competitive, and only concerned with compensation. In fact most executives want to be effective in their jobs and to leave their companies and the world a better place, creating value on both fronts for those whose lives they affect. Our view of ethical leadership takes into account not only the leader but also his constituents (followers and key stakeholders), the context or situation that the leader and constituents face, the leader’s processes and skills, and the outcomes that result. Leaders are first and foremost members of their own organizations and stakeholder groups. As such, their purpose, vision, and values are for the benefit of the entire organization and its key stakeholders. â€Å"Leaders see their constituents as not just followers, but rather as stakeholders striving to achieve that same common purpose, vision, and values. These follower and stakeholder constituents have their own individuality and autonomy which must be respected to maintain a moral community.† Ethical leaders embody the purpose, vision, and values of the organization and of the constituents, within an understanding of ethical ideals. They connect the goals of the organization with that of the internal employees and external stakeholders. Leaders work to create an open, two-way conversation, thereby maintaining a charitable understanding of different views, values, and constituents’ opinions. They are open to others’ opinions and ideas because they know those ideas make the organization they are leading better. Characteristics of Ethical Leaders In today’s turbulent world, ethics and values are present at a number of levels for executives and managers—leaders who devote their time and energy to leading the process of value creation. This broader concept of ethical leadership empowers leaders to incorporate and be explicit about their own values and ethics. The following list provides a framework for developing ethical leadership. It is based on the observations of and conversations with a host of executives and students over the past 25 years, and on readings of both popular and scholarly business literature. Written from the perspective of the leader, these ten facets of ethical leaders offer a way to understand ethical leadership that is more complex and more useful than just a matter of â€Å"good character and values.† â€Å"It is important for leaders to tell a compelling and morally rich story, but ethical leaders must also embody and live the story. This is a difficult task in today’s business environment where everyone lives in a fishbowl—on public display. So many political leaders fail to embody the high-minded stories they tell at election time, and more recently, business leaders have become the focus of similar criticism through the revelations of numerous scandals and bad behaviours. CEOs in today’s corporations are really ethical role models for all of society.† 1. Articulate and embody the purpose and values of the organization. Following a series of unethical activities by Citigroup employees in Japan in 2004, new CEO Chuck Prince fired several executives, publicly accepted responsibility and bowed apologetically to Japanese officials. Not only did Prince’s message resonate within Japan, but it also signalled a new era of â€Å"shared responsibility† within the culture of Citigroup where every employee was expected to take ownership for their decisions that affected the enterprise. 2. Focus on organizational success rather than on personal ego. Ethical leaders understand their place within the larger network of constituents and stakeholders. It is not about the leader as an individual, it is about something bigger—the goals and dreams of the organization. Ethical leaders also recognize that value is in the success of people in the organization. In 1998, in a bold gesture demonstrating how he valued the company’s line employees, Roger Enrico, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, chose to forego all but $1 of his salary, requesting that PepsiCo, in turn, contribute $1 million to a scholarship fund for employees’ children. In a similar manner, the founders of JetBlue began a process of matching, from their salaries, employee donations to a charity. Today, their entire salaries go to the JetBlue Crewmember Catastrophic Plan charity, to assist staff with crises not covered by insurance. The point of these examples is not that ethical leaders donate their salaries to charities, but rather that ethical leaders identify and act on levers, such as employee loyalty, that drive organizational success. 3. Find the best people and develop them. This task is fairly standard in different models of leadership. Ethical leaders pay special attention to finding and developing the best people precisely because they see it as a moral imperative—helping them to lead better lives that create more value for themselves and for others. Finding the best people involves taking ethics and character into account in the selection process. â€Å"Ethical leaders pay special attention to finding and developing the best people† Many CEOs have said to us that judging someone’s integrity is far more important than evaluating their experience and skills. Yet, in many organizations, employees are hired to fill a particular skill need with little regard to issues of integrity. 4. Create a living conversation about ethics, values and the creation of value for stakeholders. Too often business executives think that having a laminated â€Å"values card† in their wallet or having a purely compliance approach to ethics has solved the â€Å"ethics problem.† Suffice it to say that Enron and other troubled companies had these systems in place. What they didn’t have was a conversation across all levels of the business where the basics of value creation, stakeholder principles and societal expectations were routinely discussed and debated. There is a fallacy that values and ethics are the â€Å"soft, squishy† part of management. Nothing could be further from the truth. In organizations that have a live conversation about ethics and values, people hold each other responsible and accountable about whether they are really living the values. And, they expect the leaders of the organization to do the same. Bringing such a conversation to life means that people must have knowledge of alternatives, must choose every day to stay with the organization and its purpose because it is important and inspires them. Making a strong commitment to bringing this conversation to life is essential to do if one is to lead ethically. Most people know the story of Johnson and Johnson’s former CEO Jim Burke and the Tylenol product recall in the 1980s in which, at a great short-term financial cost, he pulled all potentially tampered-with products off the shelves, thereby keeping the public’s trust intact. The less well-known background to this story, however, is critical to understanding the final outcome. Well before the Tylenol crisis hit, Johnson Johnson had held a series of â€Å"challenge meetings† all around the world, where managers sat and debated their â€Å"Credo,† a statement of their purpose and principles of who they wanted to be as a company. The conversation about ethics at Johnson Johnson was alive, and in many ways made Jim Burke’s choice about handling the situation clearer than it otherwise would have been. 5. Create mechanisms of dispute. This needs to be made part of the organizational culture, not just a line item in a compliance program document. Some companies have used anonymous e-mail and telephone processes to give employees a way around the levels of management that inevitably spring up as barriers in large organizations. Many executives also have used â€Å"skip level† meetings where they go down multiple levels in the organization to get a more realistic view of what is actually going on. General Electric’s famous â€Å"workout† process—where workers meet to decide how to fix problems and make the company better—was a way for front line employees to push back against the established policies and authority of management. All of these processes lead to better decisions, more engaged employees, and an increased likelihood of avoiding damaging mistakes. In a company that takes its purpose or values seriously, there must be mechanisms of pushing back to avoid the values becoming stale and dead. Indeed, many of the current corporate scandals could have been prevented if only there were more creative ways for people to express their dissatisfaction with the actions of some of their leaders and others in the companies. The process of developing these mechanisms of dissent will vary by company, by leadership style, and by culture, but it is a crucial leadership task for value creation in today’s business world. 6. Take a charitable understanding of others’ values. Ethical leaders can understand why different people make different choices, but still have a strong grasp on what they would do and why. Following twenty-seven years in South African prisons, Nelson Mandela was still able to see the good in his jailers. After one particularly vicious jailer was being transferred away from Robbins Island because of Mandela’s protest and push back, the jailer turned to Mandela and stated â€Å"I just want to wish you people good luck.† Mandela interpreted this statement charitably as a sign that all people had some good within them, even those caught up in an evil system. Mandela felt that it was his responsibility to see this good in people and to try and bring it out. One CEO suggested that instead of seeing ethical leadership as preventing people from doing the wrong thing, we need to view it as enabling people to do the right thing. 7. Make tough calls while being imaginative. Ethical leaders inevitably have to make a lot of difficult decisions, from reorienting the company’s strategy and basic value proposition to making individual personnel decisions such as working with employees exiting the organization. Ethical leaders do not attempt to avoid difficult decisions by using an excuse of â€Å"I’m doing this for the business.† The ethical leader consistently unites â€Å"doing the right thing† and â€Å"doing the right thing for the business.† The idea that â€Å"ethical leadership† is just â€Å"being nice† is far from the truth. Often, exercising â€Å"moral imagination† is the most important task. Mohammed Yunus founded the Grameen Bank on such moral imagination. By taking the standard banking practice of only lending to people with collateral, and turning it on its head, Yunus spawned an industry of micro-lending to the poor. The Grameen Bank’s motto is that poverty belongs in a museum. In addition to having one of the highest loan repayment rates in the banking industry, the bank’s program of lending to poor women in Bangladesh to start businesses has helped millions of them to be able to feed themselves. 8. Know the limits of the values and ethical principles they live. All values have limits, particular spheres in which they do not work as well as others. The limits for certain values, for instance, may be related to the context or the audience in which they are being used. Ethical leaders have an acute sense of the limits of the values they live and are prepared with solid reasons to defend their chosen course of action. Problems can arise when managers do not understand the limits of certain values. As an example, one issue common to the recent business scandals was that managers and executives did not understand the limits of â€Å"putting shareholders first.† Attempts to artificially keep stock prices high—without creating any lasting value for customers and other stakeholders—can border on fanaticism rather than good judgment. Ethics is no different from any other part of our lives: there is no substitute for good judgment, sound advice, practical sense, and conversations with those affected by our actions. 9. Frame actions in ethical terms. Ethical leaders see their leadership as a fully ethical task. This entails taking seriously the rights claims of others, considering the effects of one’s actions on others (stakeholders), and understanding how acting or leading in a certain way will have effects on one’s character and the character of others. There is nothing amoral about ethical leaders, and they recognize that their own values may sometimes turn out to be a poor guidepost. The ethical leader takes responsibility for using sound moral judgment. But, there is a caution here. It is easy to frame actions in ethical terms and be perceived as â€Å"righteous.† Many have the view that ethics is about universal, inviolable principles that are carved into stone. We need to start with principles and values, and then work hard to figure out how they can be applied in today’s complex global business environment. Principles, values, cultures, and individual differences often conflict. Ethical leadership requires an attitude of humility rather than righteousness: a commitment to one’s own principles, and at the same time, openness to learning and to having conversations with others who may have a different way of seeing the world. Ethics is best viewed as an open conversation about those values and issues that are most important to us and to our business. It is a continual discovery and reaffirmation of our own principles and values, and a realization that we can improve through encountering new ideas.

Film Analysis about Women in the Movie Pretty Woman Essay example -- e

The Hollywood movie Pretty Woman (1990) is about a prostitute in Hollywood, marrying an extremely rich businessman, in spite of her mutual distrust and prejudice. The movie contains the basic narrative of the Cinderella tale: through the love and help of a man of a higher social position, a girl of a lower social status moves up to join the man at his level. Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) in Pretty Woman comes from a small town in Georgia, and works as a prostitute on the streets of Hollywood to support herself. Although Vivian's social position is very low, she has a strong sense of personal dignity and independence. Even though sometimes she have to stand by the street with empty stomach to wait for clients, Vivian and her friend Kit still keep themselves from the control of pimps, and "act as their own agents". Later, at the end of Vivian's one-week business arrangement with wealthy Edward Lewis (the Prince to her dream), which culminates in love and growing mutual respect, he offers her an apartment, a car and a credit card to get her off the streets, but she refuses. For Vivian, however, this arrangement is only different in terms of "geography" and terms of payment for the "business†; between them. Vivian knows that in society her own effort is the key to supporting herself and eventually securing a better future. She wants to set up a life in the city and tries very hard to look for a job. Due to lack of a skill, although she is willing to do heavy or dirty work, she is not able to find a job with enough pay to support herself. Her goal in life is simply to support herself by her own effort instead of letting somebody else arrange and control her life. This, in it self, represents a spirit of active effort for someone like Vivian. In addition to her efforts in trying to support herself and realize her own goals, Vivian also endeavors to help others. With a part of the $3000 windfall she earns from her week with Edward Lewis, she presses her friend Kit to pursue her long-dormant desire to become a beautician. And her most significant achievement is helping Edward Lewis, the corporate raider, rediscover his humanity, so he can build things instead of dismantling the work of othe rs for profit, and find a more meaningful life other than locking himself in work. The two aspects discussed above display the changes of emphasis on self-... ...ulminates in an attempt to rape her. In the attempted rape scene, it is very clear that Phil wants to rape Vivian not to quench an uncontrollable sexual impulse, but to give vent to all his anger for what he has lost -- the money from an unfriendly buyout that Edward has overturned with his newfound humanity, and the control of Edward. Phil wants to humiliate Vivian as he feels he has been humiliated, and, if possible, destroy her. The rape is not about sex but about abasement and power. Pretty Woman, 1990s Hollywood movie, embodies many new as well as old values and ideologies. I was surprised when I saw that, the old themes and sexual stereotypes are not completely abandoned, but the old portrayals of gender stereotypes are transmuted. Finally, the movie says that women, first of all, should rely on themselves and not submit to any kind of domination. They should simply support themselves by their own efforts instead of letting someone else arrange and control their lives. The movie also demonstrates how a girl possessing the virtues of honesty, patience, prudence, industry, and obedience can be rewarded with a husband and the attendant better life and higher social position.

Prewriting Exercise Essay

STEP 2) Describe two controversies surrounding this topic The first controversy is with regard to the idea of a universal health care system for the United States as a solution to its current health care situation of having an increasing rate of uninsurance among its working populace. While there is considerable current literature that argue that government should be able to provide adequate health care for all of its citizens, the questions of prioritization and proper allocation of funding comes into play. Specific research would have to be found to quantify as well as qualify the problem of uninsurance so as to evaluate just how much government action ought to be necessary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second controversy is whether or not current government action in terms of federal funding for Medicare and Medicaid is sufficient to address the needs of Americans. This issue examines what both of the programs currently provide and how much each has actually helped the American public in facing health service issues. Again, factual research need to be complied in order to present a clear picture of how much these programs are helping so that a sound conclusion regarding whether they are helping enough can be reached. STEP 3) Describe which side of the argument you feel is right and why I believe that given the current health care needs of the American public, serious consideration of establishing a universal health are system should be deeply considered. I also believe that current measures are not enough. Of course, these are assertions that I’ve initially made based on personal experiences in my interactions with individuals seeking health care support from the government. Therefore, I would need to gather more solid, factual information to support my claims. I will need to explore the concept of a universal health care system better in terms of its application to other countries so that I can have a deeper perspective on what needs to be done. STEP 4) Formulate a working thesis sentence The development of a universal health care system is a positive step towards the solution of the American uninsurance problem.