Efficient managers and effective managers

Efficient managers and effective managers Difference between efficient managers and effective managers Effectiveness and efficiency are mutually exclusive things. For a manager, they are both fundamental preconditions. Being effective means that one is able to properly analyse the evolving environment and selecting the right things as the areas of strategic focus for the enterprise. On the other hand, being efficient requires a carefully carved cultural and operational framework which helps the manager to achieve a particular degree of success, given the level of resources applied to a particular objective. In any business, an efficient manager is one who uses limited resources available viz., time, material and men to get the job done in a more professional manner. This includes securing productive and profitable results in a short span, using funds allotted for a business more legibly yet smartly, and appraising employee performance etc., In other words, an efficient manager would keep the business running even in dire circumstances. An effective manager, on the other hand, is slightly different from the efficient one. The effective manager focuses on productivity rather than increased/balanced profitability. Effective management has various layers in its setup such as motivation, teamwork, communication and objectives. An effective manager is someone who leads, coordinates and filters various activities of the sub-ordinates and decides an appropriate mechanism to work upon. An effective manager usually works without any constraints such as funds, manpower etc. The focus always implies on better management practices and in turn, better output. Effectiveness is a precondition for the success of any manager; however that depends more upon the uncontrollable variables dictated to the manager by the operational environment and his ability to come up with the right choices that would suit his resources built over time. It may be appreciated that a firms resources in terms of manpower and technology as well as capital would have been built up over time and they have a great degree of rigidity. Once you become effective, efficiency can be an easier thing to bring into operation. The two things are in fact complimentary. Efficiency in fact depends upon the lower level managerial abilities and culture while effectiveness is almost always a top management variable. In management, operating in efficient and in effective ways is a key to good performance and to successfully reaching the goals set for the business. While efficiency and effectiveness are similarly desirable characteristics of business behavior, either one is often seen as attainable only at the expense of the other. Looking at the interplay of the two characteristics can give a clear insight into the ideal behavior for a manager when faced with tasks which must be completed quickly, but also completed in such a way that the key goals are attained. Luther Gulick advocates seven elements which make up common management in any organization. He calls it the POSDCORB. Planning a strategy to accomplish the objectives set for an enterprise. Organizing a formal structure of authority, arranged and defined for specific jobs. Staffing / Recruiting and training personnel. Directing/ Decision making and embodying rules, instructions etc., Co-ordinating various parts of work. Reporting through records, research and inspection. Budgeting in form of fiscal planning, accounting and control. These make up the common administrative tasks managers perform in an organization. The effectiveness of each element makes up both an efficient and effective management system. The following make up management behavior. Management of human resources is a social phenomenon. An effective communication channel is always imperative in any kind of an organization. James Pfiffner calls it the heart of management. Chester Barnard remarks it as the foundation of co-operative group activity. For an effective communication, the information passed on must be clear, consistent, adequate, timely, uniform, flexible and acceptable. A manager must make sure that a proper communication channel is present in an organization. This includes avoiding semantic and ideological barriers, two-valued thinking (Halo effect), stereotyping and dogmatism among the employees. Decision-making is a vital part of an efficient management system. Robert Tannenbaum says decision-making involves a conscious choice or selection of one behavior alternative from a group of two or more behavior alternative. A behavior alternative may simply be known as a decision. Decision-making, in more ways or the other, is a singular function of the manager. It is thus very important in an organization. Herbert Simon came up with the fact that every decision has two basic premises a factual premise and a value premise. A fact is a statement of reality while a value is an expression of preference. A manager would go by decisions based on these only. An effective manager goes in for the factual premise because it can be measured empirically, while the value premise, which may determine efficient factors such as profit, loss, employee satisfaction, cost-cutting etc., would be more preferred by efficient managers. Rensis Likert calls motivation as the core of management. Motivation is a psychological process which energizes and activates an individual to achieve formulated objectives. A manager thus plays a vital role as a driving force behind motivation. On this part, both effective and efficient managers must be good motivators, so as to bring about the best in the employees. Classical and modern management thinkers have listed money and a variety of socio-psychological factors as a source of motivation. Motivation also helps to build teams and perform better. Teamwork is another essential part of management. A manager is the undisputed leader of a team. He delegates work to his sub-ordinates, assigns tasks, creates plans and makes decisions. An autocratic manager would do all the above functions by himself. It is not desirable in an effective organizational system. On the other hand, an efficient manager would tend to be a little autocratic in his functions, because of the limited resources available and some other constraints. It is however better for an organization to be more democratic for proper functioning. Importance Managing effectively and efficiently is the way to go about in business. Efficient business tactics would help to know how to deal with finance and personnel in a more productive way. Most successful businesses in the world today are rather efficient than effective. Efficient management practices provide increased sustainability and stability in an organization. It involves novelty in management practices and output. An effective management system takes a long time to fully materialize. It has more to do with the long-term vision of an organization than its present objectives. Effective management also involves setting time benchmarks within the organization, so that a given objective gets completed within a set time. Traditional management practices are usually followed, and the manager sets up an instructional framework within which the sub-ordinates are expected to follow. An effective management system, summarily can be defined as, one which Raises productivity Increases work output from sub-ordinates Functions within a set of rules and regulations Works in a more democratic manner Builds teamwork and effective communication channels A good manager, therefore is one who works both efficiently and effectively simultaneously. It is imperative that he does work in a more systematic manner and adapts himself depending on the organizational situation and environment. What an organization / business would need is an effective mechanism and an efficient output.

Philip Larkin Poetry Analysis

Philip Larkin Poetry Analysis Introduction Meaning of the Term Movement The Movement is related to the work and concept of a group of poets of the nineteen-fifties entirely. The poets were Donald Davie, Kingsley Amis, Thorn Gunn, and many more. Philip Larkin (1922-1985), who was also one of the poets greatly believed to be closely related to it. These poets believed to have casted a rebellion against the raised romanticism and sensuousness from the nineteen-thirties to nineteen-fifties. The work of these poets was regarded and regarded as victorious of common sense and clarity over obscurity and mystification. It was regarded as a verbal restraint over stylistic excessive. Philip Larkin subtly deflates the familiar romantic childhood idyllic associated with other writers such as D.H. Lawrence and Dylan Thomas. Such characteristics were a source of enduring popularity for readers of that time. Stark and Naked Realities in Philip Larkins Poetry The nineteen-fifties was filled with a time when the universal attitude of the people and the writers was highly anti-romantic and largely anti-heroic. The World War II had come to a halt in 1945 and the euphoria caused over the defeat of the Nazi including fascist nations, and also of imperialist Japan too soon ended.This gave ways to a feeling of despondency and rejection over the impairment which even the victorious Allies had to suffer in great. Worldly, the Germans bombing raids over Britain had inflicted enormous damage on the country including the territories and thousand and millions of lives had been already lost. As a result, there was an air of disillusionment and disenchantment among the commoners as well as among the writers, poets, authors and artists of that time. A writer like Philip Larkin was more committed to a realistic and naturalistic display of life and the actual conditions of life over the country could not have contributed a romantic a real halo or a heroic quality to the life which he necessarily depicted in his poems. The city was clearly more than a place of comic disparagement for this writer. He could not have really portrayed heroes andtheir heroismon the face of the miseries, constraints and the financial problems which the country was experiencing at that time. The Welfare State was established but the results of that were not to satisfying and comforting. It had been accepted by many critics through their criticisms that the poets of that time during Movement did not at all existed as a literary group. But it has also been acknowledged that these poets basically operated in a significant cultural and social influence. The Movement was the product of the specific views about both literature and society and it in its turn helped to establish and to circularize and comment on such views. Philip Larkin wanted only to show the stark, crude, blunt realities of life in his poems and emerged as an extreme kind of all anti-heroes. He mocked at himself and also mocked at the people as well as the conditions that surrounded him. Wherever he found any chances of reinventing feature in social, economical and political life of the country he did not close his eyes to it but he instead was even keener and gloomily much aware of the sordidness of the commercialized, commodifiedand consumerised society. Many of his poems are based on self-awareness and most of them also contain also sharp criticisms on the society encompassing him. The unwillingness to tell lies, accuracy and fidelity to the actual state of affairs were the three most governing principles of Philip Larkins poetry. His poetry is truthful, and he does not try to impart any glamour or glitter to life as he saw it. He does not try to romanticize human relationships, not even the love relationship between men and women . To conclude, he does not depict himself as main protagonist of any sort and he does not depict any heroic individuals with codes of honor as seen in Greek literatures. In his poetry,there are no warriors and no knights-at-arms in his poetry. There are also no Romeos and Juliets of Shakespeare in his poetry. There are no war-like deed in his poetry, and there is no tendency at all forthe glorification of human beings or human relationships. We observe much of stark and naked realities in his poetry. CONTENT No Romance for Larkin in Love and Marriage An Arundel Tomb'(published in 1964) is a poem consisting of 7 verses with 6 lines each which is about an Earl of Arundel and his Countess or second wife. The poet here recognizes the feelings of mutual attachment between them in a way the sculptor has depicted them as holding hands of each other. But Larkin does not romanticize and bring out the feelings of joyfulness ofthis attachment and bonding between them. In the reversal, he expresses the view that this beautifully holding of hands was necessarily the sculptor’s discovery and not a representation of an actual or momentary moment. Henceforth, Philip Larkin witingly looks at the relationship between the Earl of Arundel and his second wife with the rationality and not emotions. In Dockery and Son .Philip Larkin says that, while a person of his same age had married early in life and has a son. He himself had never married and had no son or daughter. But he does notregard Dockery as high ranking to himself because of this sit uations in life. In other words, he does not comment much on marriage and of children. In Poetry of DeparturesPhilip Larkin expresses a desire to leave and travel but then eventually drops upthis idea or view. He does not romanticize travelling in the name of adventures or the gathering of knowledge its own sake. In all these poems we find Philip Larkin adopting an attitude to the most crucial aspects of life. Love, Relationships, marriage and travel are not in his notions something worth experiencing, rejoicing, marvelous and wonderful. A heroic life is necessarily also a romantic life but Philip Larkin finds no heroism, greatness, magnificense and no romance in love affairs and marriage. Individuals in Larkins Poems in a Heroic Mold The individuals portrayedby Philip Larkin in his poems are certainly in the heroic mold. The main character or the protagonist in his dramatic monologues is the poet Philip Larkin himself. In these poems he does not proclaim himself in any way. And in poems where he portrays some other persons, theyare not presented as a heroic figure. The poem Mr. Bleaney’ which he uses in his other novel as well ‘Jill’the speaker is he himself. Both of them have not been depicted as a figure of heroism in this following poem. Mr. Bleaney is and ordinary kind of manual worker who is modest, humble and unassuming leading a poverty stricken. Philip Larkin speaks about Mr. Bleaneyas an exposing his shallowness and his uninspiring life. But Larkin does not speak of himself in any of such manners. He certainly establishes his superior nature over Mr. Bleaney because of his higher spiritual and intellectual interests but instead he jokes at himself in the same manner while mocking at M r. Bleaney. In fact Philip Larkin irony is often directed against himself only. The poem titled I Remember, I Remember is the most appropriate example. Here he attacks the romantic notions of his childhood which in other poems he has described as a forgotten boredom. The Evangelist in Faith Healing Is Pulled Down from his pedestal In the poem Faith Healing , the Evangelist is not considered as an ideal or rather not been idealized. On the other side, Philip Larkin has given us a satirical picture of the Evangelist. The evangelist is the one who has great strength, courage and a God equal figure in the eyes of his women guests but Philip Larkin drags this false divine power down to the ground from the high pedestal which he occupies in the eyes of his women deities. No heroic attitude towards work In Toads and Toads Revisited, 1954 Philip Larkin does not necessarily permits a heroic attitude towards work and compares it to the Satan described as toad. He does not say Work is worship but rather he says that work is a toad(not wanted) squatting on his life and others. Work is the way which takes a human being to his grave and immortality. Thus Philip Larkin barely adjusts himself to a life of work instead of claiming that work uplifts a man. Nowhere in his work of poetry does Philip Larkin present to our eyes views of a struggle against or a resistance to the misfortunes of life. William Butler Yeats had certainly upholds and applauds the idea of a heroic struggle but Larkin does not do any such thing his poetry. Larkins Unheroic Attitude towards Death Larkin is an anti-hero in its own writing. He does not even adopt a heroic attitude towards death which is the major theme in his poetry. Larkin was haunted, preoccupied with the thought of death itself and in his poems he recollects us of the high inevitability of death. The poems Coming, Going, and Days are about death and the climax and culminate of his treatment of death comes in the poem Aubade. But nowhere does he defies death. He does not follow John Donnes lead where he had said: Death, be not proud . But Larkin does not make any such assumptions. He fears death as he flinches at the thought of death. He certainly does not show any fearlessness and audacity towards death. In one his poem, namely The Explosion which is about British class working people where does he exalts death as a means of bringing honour to a greater extent to the people who were killed in the Explosion or the blast. In general, he harbours the fearfulness of death and immortality. CONCLUSION Elements of Modernism; and Larkins Opposition to Them In his introduction to his anthology The New Poetry (1962), Alfred Alvarez attached the Movement poets of the nineteen-fifties, accusing them of an exaggerated provincialism, insularity, dullness, and a blunt refusal to learn anything from the imaginative excitements and the artistic aims associated with T.S. Eliot and modernism. Philip Larkin was the most distinguished member of the Movement, other names connected with the Movement being Thorn Gunn, Donald Davie, John Wain, D. J. Enright, and Kingsley Amis. Larkin was therefore the chief target of Alvarezs condemnation. In his early poetic career, Larkin had been much influenced by the symbolist poetry of W.B. Yeats but afterwards he rejected Yeats in favour of Thomas Hardy. In other words, from being something of a modernist, he subsequently became a traditionalist, and a critic of modernism. It was as an opponent of modernism that he declared his support to poets to whom technique seemed less important than content, and who accepted the styles and forms which they had inherited and through which they expressed their own content or ideas. It was not simply experimentation which Larkin deplored but the fact that some artists had begun to cultivate a relationship with their material rather than with their audience: and he deplored this fact because such artists in his opinion became easy prey to two principal trends, namely modernism and mystification. He said that his essential criticism of modernism, whether exemplified by Charlie Parker, Ezra Pound, or Picasso was due to the fact that modernism helped people neither to enjoy nor endure this kind of art. Modernist art, he further said, did not have any lasting power. Such art mystified or outraged the p eople. Every modernist in his opinion felt compelled to sink deeper and deeper into violence and vulgarity so far as art was concerned. Furthermore, Larkin seemed to think that modernist art, whether music, painting, or poetry, was complex and difficult to explain. In this view he was right because such modernist works as The Waste Land and Ulysses contain quotations from other texts thereby making themselves into complex and many-layered literary palimpsests. In Larkins opinion this sort of thing had encouraged a view of poetry which was almost mechanistic, namely that every poem must include all previous poems. Larkin held that every poem must be its own sole freshly-created universe and must, therefore, have no belief in a common myth-kitty. Larkin rejected the evolutionary view of poetry adopted and promoted by the modernists. His anti-modernism attracted him to the traditional poets such as Wordsworth and Tennyson. Larkin also admired John Betjeman even though this poet was not directl y associated with the Movement. Philip Larkin has much in common with all these earlier English poets. They all used a moderate tone of voice and accessible language-a language such as men do use. Besides, all these poets were centrally concerned with the relationship between themselves and to the landscapes and they habitually expressed a sense of communion with their surroundings in exalted terms. In other words, they were all intensely patriotic poets. And yet we must acknowledge at this point the fact that, although Philip Larkin has flatly rejected Modernism in theory, he is in practice a remarkably wide-ranging poet whose last volume of poems, entitled High Windows shows distinct modernist and symbolist leaning which he was supposed to have discarded quite early in his career. Nor can we claim that there is no obscurity at all in his poetry. Illustrations of Larkins Rejection of Modernism: His Raw Material We have now to turn to Larkins poetry in order to find out in what way or ways he has rejected modernism in his work. Rejecting the complexity and obscurity of Modernist poetry and rejecting the element of mystification in it. Larking chooses only familiar subjects and matters of daily interest for treatment in his poems. He does not deal with abstractions. He deals with the concrete realities of life. The subjects in his poems relate to common occurrences and daily happenings. In the poem At Grass, he meditates upon a number of retired race-horses whom are a concrete reality which anybody could have witnesses. Besides, anyone looking at those horses would have speculated upon their present status and its contrast with their past glory. There is nothing transcendental about the subject of the poem or Philip Larkins treatment of it even though some critics have said that the poem symbolically deals with human beings in their state of retirement from their life of activity and achievem ent. Lilies on a young Ladys Photograph Album is again a poem in the anti-modernist mode. It has as its theme a contrast between the past glamour and charm of a lady and her present condition. The glamour and the charm have now considerably declined; but the poet still cherishes a memory of them, and treasures them in his heart. Nothing could be more realistic than this contrast and the wistful feelings of the poet. WORK CITED Primary Sources Larkin, Philip. Collected Poems: Philip Larkin London: The Marvell Press, 1988 – The North Ship, London: Fortune Press, 1945 – The Less Deceived. York shire Marvell Press, 1955 – The Whitsun wedding. London Faber, 1964 – High Windows. London Faber and Faber, 1974 Secondary Resources Rajamouly.K. The poetry of Philip Larkin. A critical study, Prestige Books

Environmental Destruction Essay -- Chemical War, Pollution, Recycling

For thousands of years the environment stayed close to its natural state, exerting its influence on living forms. But in the past century, things have changed drastically as human beings have altered the paradigm of the environment. Now they are the masters, putting their stamp on the earth through pollution and contamination and poison. There needs to be action to monitor such destruction, but consideration of both sides of the environmental issue should be taken into account to determine what form of action should be taken. The person who almost singlehandedly brought this environmental destruction to the forefront of the public’s awareness was Rachel Carson. In a chapter of her book Silent Spring called â€Å"The Obligation to Endure† she talked about the various poisons that were afflicting Americans without their knowledge or consent (Carson 54). Many forms of contamination infiltrated waterways, air and earth. Pollution became rampant and difficult to reverse. Radiation, in the form of Strontium 90 was being unleashed. It permeated the atmosphere after governmentally approved nuclear explosions. Acid rain and fallout occurred. It got in the soil and the food supply and eventually into the bodies of human beings, staying there until death (Carson 50). In addition, pesticides were being developed at an alarming rate, and were used indiscriminately, killing both good and bad insects. When the bad insects bounced back, deadlier products were developed, causing an endless cycle in the chemical war (50-51). She asked the question, â€Å"Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons without making it unfit for all life?† Despite the destruction wreaked, she documented that ma... ...eaving the lights on, failing to recycle, and using plastic grocery bags instead of paper. The new heresies include failure to compost, or failure to go organic† (3). None of these statements are meant to belittle the environmental cause. It is real. It is worthy of our attention. And we must take action. The first way to take action is to be aware that there is a problem with the environment and it must be monitored through both governmental regulations and individual responsibility. While there is a problem, we don’t have to go overboard, but we do need to take action ourselves. We can do so by doing our part to decrease our carbon footprint, whether by recycling, organic farming, or refusing to pollute. It is a noble thing to address the needs of the planet. But all things have to be done in moderation and we need to proceed accordingly. Environmental Destruction Essay -- Chemical War, Pollution, Recycling For thousands of years the environment stayed close to its natural state, exerting its influence on living forms. But in the past century, things have changed drastically as human beings have altered the paradigm of the environment. Now they are the masters, putting their stamp on the earth through pollution and contamination and poison. There needs to be action to monitor such destruction, but consideration of both sides of the environmental issue should be taken into account to determine what form of action should be taken. The person who almost singlehandedly brought this environmental destruction to the forefront of the public’s awareness was Rachel Carson. In a chapter of her book Silent Spring called â€Å"The Obligation to Endure† she talked about the various poisons that were afflicting Americans without their knowledge or consent (Carson 54). Many forms of contamination infiltrated waterways, air and earth. Pollution became rampant and difficult to reverse. Radiation, in the form of Strontium 90 was being unleashed. It permeated the atmosphere after governmentally approved nuclear explosions. Acid rain and fallout occurred. It got in the soil and the food supply and eventually into the bodies of human beings, staying there until death (Carson 50). In addition, pesticides were being developed at an alarming rate, and were used indiscriminately, killing both good and bad insects. When the bad insects bounced back, deadlier products were developed, causing an endless cycle in the chemical war (50-51). She asked the question, â€Å"Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons without making it unfit for all life?† Despite the destruction wreaked, she documented that ma... ...eaving the lights on, failing to recycle, and using plastic grocery bags instead of paper. The new heresies include failure to compost, or failure to go organic† (3). None of these statements are meant to belittle the environmental cause. It is real. It is worthy of our attention. And we must take action. The first way to take action is to be aware that there is a problem with the environment and it must be monitored through both governmental regulations and individual responsibility. While there is a problem, we don’t have to go overboard, but we do need to take action ourselves. We can do so by doing our part to decrease our carbon footprint, whether by recycling, organic farming, or refusing to pollute. It is a noble thing to address the needs of the planet. But all things have to be done in moderation and we need to proceed accordingly.

Newman And The English Major :: essays research papers

Newman and The English Major John Newman’s ideas of education, knowledge, and intellectual fitness are well-formed and truthful. As related to my major, English, it reveals some interesting trends and practices. Although the English major isn’t a real big money-maker, like being a lawyer or doctor, and it generally focuses on literature and creativity, the courses still concentrate on the utility of what is being learned. Although one can sometimes see the relationships between courses, and thereby understand them in respects to each other and draw some connection, this interaction is rarely stated explicitly in those courses. One of Newman’s key ideas is that liberal knowledge (knowing how to think with versatility) is necessary for the more effective and more adaptable use of particular knowledge. A class that has allowed me to think and learn in this way was ENG 3014, Theories of Literature. I took the class twice for the purpose of raising my grade; the first time with Dr. Campbell and the second time with Dr. Logan. In this class I learned various critical literary theories and how to apply them to any text, communication, or other form of expression. Although these theories are based on application, it is the application of a thought process; an analysis which can be adapted and imposed on whatever I choose, which I can choose at my leisure, not just useful in one specific situation. However, most classes only teach facts, lessons, and the direct applications for them. Even the general studies courses and survey courses are taught as thought all the knowledge taught were to be used, not knowledge to savor and help heighten the intellect or thought process. To get an Associate’s degree for example, one must fulfill certain requirements, such as â€Å"natural science.† Instead of the class being taught as a class on general knowledge, which would be insightful into the world around us, they are taught as though every student enrolled were interested in becoming a chemist or biologist, with not enough effort placed on stimulation of interest. The students who are not interested in pursuing the sciences further have no use for this â€Å"particular† information, and it is disused and forgotten. I know that there are all sorts of information that I’ve been taught but are too specific to be useful to me day-to-day and so have been forgotten. The problem is that particular knowledge is useless except in one particular realm or level of discourse.

Sir Isaac Newton Essay examples -- Biography Accomplishments of Isaac

Why do things fall when we drop them? How come we do not float as we would on the moon? Where do the colors of a rainbow come from? How long would it take to drive across Colorado if you are constantly changing speeds? All of these questions can now be answered, largely impart because of the great English philosopher, Sir Isaac Newton. In a time where religion was at war with science, Isaac Newton opened up people's minds to theories and reason. Isaac Newton was to be the starburst of the Enlightenment. He became the foundation of enlightened thought. It was the 17th century, the time of the Scientific Revolution. Many brilliant men contributed to this time, but it was Newton who solidified their thoughts and theories (Margaret, 10). Isaac Newton is one of the most influential people in the world. He not only invented so many new concepts and ideas, but he brought an understanding of the universe that we live in to people across the world. Isaac Newton not only c hanged the world with the invention of calculus, but also with his theory of light and color, and his invention of physical science and the law of universal gravitation (Margaret, 11). To begin with, Isaac Newton laid down the foundations for differential and integral calculus. It all began when Newton was enrolled at Cambridge College, the University that helped him along in his studies. Here, he began reading what ever he could find, especially if it had something to do with mathematics. He read books on geometry by Descartes, algebra books by John Wallis, and eventually developed the binomial theorem which was a shortcut in multiplying binomials (Margaret, 46). Newton was 22 at this time and he was already going beyond other people's thinking.... ...e began by mastering mathematics. He developed calculus in order for him to find the rate of change of objects. He learned about light and colors, which lead to his invention of the refracting telescope. He was the man that finally built a model of astronomy and physics and in doing so, brought together the work of Kepler and Galileo and of course his own findings on gravity (Margaret, 90). Newton was the first scientist ever to be honored with a knighthood for his work (Christianson, 138). Newton saw far, farther than anyone else at this time. He changed the world, and opened people's eyes. Work Cited Anderson, Margaret. Isaac Newton: The Greatest Scientist of All Time. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers; Revised edition, 2008. Christianson, Gale. Isaac Newton: And the Scientific Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Charismatic style of Leadership

I have chosen the leader of a local foundation in our community who had been in the public eye due to his tireless efforts and initiative in addressing the homeless problem that are common even in suburban America. The person exhibits all three characteristics which include firstly, charm and grace, a primary characteristic of charismatic type of leadership. Secondly, the leader has the ability to command respect because he has immense self-belief that he can accomplish a lot for the homeless people. Thirdly, this person or leader has been influential as well because he can draw people in the upper echelon of society to support in many aspects of their program. People, both within the volunteer and paid staff, the homeless themselves and the supporters respect, abide by and pursue this leader’s vision and plans because they see firsthand his transparency and personally admire or have a high regard for his manner of dealing with the staff. This is what is called intense â€Å"attraction† to a leader because of his/her ability to command respect, conduct with such verve and energy (â€Å"Charismatic Leadership, 2007). When they hold meetings or when this leader speaks to people, he sees everyone in the room, and seems to convey at a level of â€Å"closeness.† The leader picks at the moods and behavior of the moment and then tailors what he is going to do next based on those observations. The leader employs different methods or strategies to get the attention of the followers, is very persuasive and very effective in using gestures and body language (â€Å"Charismatic Leadership, 2007). When this person leads his team, he tries to create a distinction about his group in contrast with that of others. He builds the uniqueness of the group in the eyes of members and makes efforts to solidify the group’s adherence to the leader but the members expect as well of their leader’s loyalty towards them. He exhibits leadership skills coupled with a positive outlook and is other –oriented which results to changes for the good of the team usually (â€Å"Charismatic Leadership, 2007). Reference: _________ â€Å"Charismatic Leadership†. 2007. Changing minds.org. Accessed March 24, 2008

Performance Appraisal Essay

â€Å"Performance appraisal is the process through which employee performance is assessed, feedback is provided to the employee, and corrective action plans are designed† (Youssef, 2012). So basically, a performance appraisal is the process of evaluation workers’ performance in correlation with previously determined standards of the organization. Performance appraisals are one way of giving employees feedback about their performance at work; they record the employee’s performance to date, their potential and what they could work on to further benefit them. These appraisals do not only help them employee but they could benefit the organization as well in that it reflects on if the employee is right for the position (currently or in the future) and if the training the organization gives is sufficient for the employee. There are many advantages to performing appraisals. The records of these performance appraisals are kept for a period of time, they can be referenced and used to evaluate how an employee has improved over time, or if they have yet to improve or began to slack off. This gives an opportunity for a manager to pull an employee aside and praise them for their accomplishments or inform them what it is they need to improve on, managers can also determine whether or not an employee could benefit from further training. Employees can be given feedback while learning if their goals within the company have been fulfilled while setting up new goals for them to accomplish in the next year. Sometimes, expectations and policies can be difficult to understand; during feedback, one can take that opportunity to have clarity on policies and expectations and discuss matters that they want to discuss in private, such as ideas for improvement or issues they’ve had within the company or with fellow employees. Knowing that your performance will be appraised can serve as motivation to gain a reward for their hard work. There is potential for biases that need to be worked through to make sure everyone is given a fair opportunity. While it’s easy to compare one another, it’s imperative and difficult to resist comparing skills of one employee to another; if employees were compared to one another, it creates an unfair assessment of the employees. It’s crucial to set a standard to evaluate performance. Personality conflicts can influence judgment when assessing performance; this would cause an inaccurate assessment which would be unfair to the employee. Just because an employee is good at one thing, does not make them good at everything, and vice versa. One ruined project or miscommunication in direction does not mean the same thing will occur every time, or again even. There needs to be a minimum time-frame in which an employee’s performance should be assessed; it’s not fair for a manager that’s worked with an employee a time or two to fairly appraise them, a first impression can distort one’s image in either a positive or negative manner. It’s also necessary to appraise one on their entire performance, not just the most recent occurrences. Lifestyle choices should be left out of the appraisal process and should not be used for or against an employee. The primary objectives of an appraisal are – to assess past performance, to identify training needs, to set and agree on future objectives and standards, and to facilitate the achievement of these goals† (Youssef, 2012). Management by objectives includes an agreement between managers and their employees on the employee’s performance objectives for periodic review for the employee accomplishes said objectives. The effectiveness of a performance appraisal can be judged by its objectives. Understanding the strategic objectives can help one adjust to meet the needs of an organization. A timeline allows a manager and employee to make a plan for goals to be met, there must be deadlines and time periods assigned to each goal to ensure that they are met. An employee needs to show improvement, one that is not very productive and having issues with the company’s values and policies will not be around for a long period of time. Employees that are productive and possess talent that are imperative for the position will help with the company’s success and ensure they are able to withstand growth. Strategic planning is needed to determine the budget for current employees as well as future employees. Appraisal results reflect one’s character, development, how well one performs to the organization’s standards, as well as other strengths or weaknesses. In some organizations, these results may be used to determine if/which employees deserve recognition as well as awards such as a merit pay raise, a bonus and/or a promotion. These results can also determine which employees do not mesh with the organization and need to be let go, require counseling or further training or a demotion/decrease in pay. Performance appraisals can be a motivation to excel.