Overweight in a Pre-School Population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Overweight in a Pre-School Population - Essay Example The effectiveness of the social campaigns just as the name suggests relies on the ability of the campaigns to recruit numerous participants thus curbing the trend in the society.   Let’s take on child obesity: one step at a time is an appropriate example social marketing campaign that strives to curb the prevalence of childhood obesity in Europe while promoting specific products. In the campaign, the marketers address specific factors that lead to childhood obesity thereby advising on the uptake of appropriate physical activities and diet that will help curb the negative prevalent. Childhood obesity is a vice, one that denies children appropriate childhood. Obesity makes children susceptible to numerous other diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. As such, curbing childhood obesity is a fundamental social role the government must undertake in order to improve the quality of life for the citizenry. Additionally, social problems often create a market for private investors as proprietors develop products and services that promise to improve the situation.   The same is the situation in this context as Safefood a commercial organization that sells food products decide to capitalize on the situation thereby developing a substantial market for its products. The company, therefore, develops the Let’s take on child obesity: one step at a time campaign in order to market its products while addressing the social problem. The campaign addresses specific issues that will help curb the prevalence of childhood obesity. The developers of the campaign observe specific policies thus developing an appropriate campaign, one that addresses the specific issues illustriously. The campaign, for example, proposes at least sixty minutes of play.  

Civilians and law enforcement should be aware of the basic human rights Essay Example for Free

Civilians and law enforcement should be aware of the basic human rights Essay In todays society, we live amongst social media and video recordings trying to expose police officers and other government officials alike. In reality, what could help those issues would be to get educated on both sides of the law. What does it mean to have a search warrant? Are you allowed to be searched without a warrant? These are basic human rights that both a civilian and civil service worker should know which all relate back to criminal procedure. When searching, â€Å"search and seizure† into the United States Code, there were a ton of things that turned up, but one stuck out – an article titled, â€Å"16 USC 706: Arrests; search warrants†. Now, I have seen countless videos on YouTube of people screaming that police are unlawfully searching them without their permission, I’m sure we all have, but I’ve always wondered who was in the wrong. Was it really the civil service workers fault? Were those people right? This article states that the only way someone is allowed to be searched, and therefore arrested, without a warrant is if a police officer visually sees a crime being committed. This makes perfect sense – for example, prostitution. If a police officer pulls up to a prostitute and they offer that officer services, there is no reason for the officer to get a warrant. The prostitute has already committed the crime, which the officer has witnessed first hand. It goes on to state, then, that an officer can search anyone and anything IF they have a search warrant which can be obtained from the judge. But what happens when a person still doesn’t want to be searched? That lead me to the joint article titled, â€Å"18 USC 2231: Assault or resistance†. It is a normal reaction, when a stranger enters your home, to be a bit taken aback. This article, however, talks about what happens when a legal search and seizure take place and a citizen resists and/or assaults an officer. When an officer has a warrant to search and/or seize some of your property, there is nothing you can do. Though, if you decide to take physical action against that officer, even using a deadly weapon, you could be imprisoned for up to ten years. These are just glimpses into some of the United States Codes that make up our criminal procedure and our everyday laws. There is a whole process both parties have to go through when a suspected crime is committed. Not only are these codes in place to help police officers, but to protect a citizen from unlawful treatment. Criminal procedure is meant to help both parties and, hopefully, with a little bit of education, that message can be spread throughout the United States.       References Worrall, J. L. (2015).  Criminal Procedure: From First Contact To Appeal  (5th ed.). Retrieved August 26, 2017. 2231. Assault or resistance. (n.d.). Retrieved August 26, 2017, from http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=search%2Band%2Bseizuref=treesortfq=truenum=45hl=trueedition=prelimgranuleId=USC-prelim-title18-section2231 706. Arrests; search warrants. (n.d.). Retrieved August 26, 2017, from http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=search and seizuref=treesortfq=truenum=18hl=trueedition=prelimgranuleId=USC-prelim-title16-section706#sourcecredit

The Formation Of The Pakistan Army History Essay

The Formation Of The Pakistan Army History Essay Pakistan came into being on 14 Aug 1947 as one country comprised mainly of contagious Muslim areas. Today even after more than sixty years down the line the country is struggling to become a nation. Pakistans army has had the distinction of holding of reigns of the country for more than thirty-eight years. Martial law regimes have come up in Pakistan in spite of democratically elected governments, the Army continued to exercise control even when civilians were titular rulers of Pakistan. There are many possible questions as to why the Pakistan army is so different then the Indian Army although both the armies share a similarity in cultural heritage and an inherited legacy of political neutrality from the British. . How and under what circumstances did Pakistan Army gained such colossal proportion of importance in the social fabric of Pakistan so as to be the major factor in deciding the policies, relations and thus the destiny of Pakistan in the new world order. Army in Pakistan gained importance which continued to grow steadily, maybe after the first instance of employment of Army for internal security problem on 06 mar 1953,the place was Lahore. The situation was brought under control within two days. The soldiers were withdrawn on 14 May and two days later Dawn newspaper commented that Memories of the Army rule in Lahore will linger for a long time to come and a new look that Lahore has acquired and the sense of discipline among its people inculcated by the Army will bear eloquent testimony to the good work done by Maj Gen Azam Khan and his men. This probably was the building block through which Pakistan Army got itself entrenched to seats of power in future. Many scholars have also raised the question of the age old problem of humankind that is economics driving the force behind the Pakistan Army being reluctant to give away its stake in power.The initial patriotism changed to self sustenance and then to safeguard the vital economic interests of the army. Over the years we have seen that Pakistan has been able to force the world opinion and aid towards itself as per Dr Philip Colhn pakistan is a nation which puts barrel a pistol on its head and demands aid,help otherwise it would shoot itself. This argument merits considerstion as due to its unique geopolitical position it has become a major player and a strategic partner for the sole superpower USA in the fight against terror. The crux of the problem are the bribes the Pakistani military establishment openly seeks from the international community for any move on its part whether it is to help rein in Taliban or severe its institutional support to India directed terror groups. Another point which drives the behavior of Pakistan is that it has to live with the fact that it lacks strategic depth and so it has raised its stakes in Afghanistan which it considers its strategic depth and the militant outfits operating with the blessings of Pakistan Army,more in particular of ISI are also considered as strategic partners which would come to play when the need arises. METHODOLOGY Statement of the Problem The Pak Army traditionally preoccupied itself with political, social, economic security concerns of the nation. It started with Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan ( 17 Jan 1951 Apr 1969) since then there has been many instances when power was bestowed on civil regimes but due to their corruption and mis governance people of Pakistan turned back to their Army leadership for solace. The role of the Pakistan army in politics, is contributing to dissonance with India. Hypothesis The army has been supreme power centre and has played its role in all the major time lines in the history of the nation irrespective of the global and geo strategic positions prevailing at that time. The foreign policies and political issues are dictated to a certain extent by the GHQ. This role of Pakistan army in politics, especially in the present sub-continental context, is the major cause of dissonance with India. Justification of the Study The Pakistan Army has been able to influence the political, social and religious aspirations of the people of Pakistan. In doing so it has been able to justify its involvement in almost all spheres of the governance .As a powerful organization ,it has been able to present a picture to the population that in the present scenario it is the only organization in Pakistan which can safeguard the nations integrity and security from the biggest enemy, India. This study proposes to see the correlation between the Army and the governance and power structure of Pakistan further if its this mindset is the root cause of dissonance with India. Scope The study will deal with the historical backdrop and the symbiotic relationship which has emerged between civil and military relations in Pakistan. The role played by army in politics and its subsequent effect on relations with India. The study will cover the military regimes in brief along with the three wars and the proxy war in Kashmir resulting in fomenting trouble against India . Method of Data Collection The means and sources of gathering information , which would assisted in completing this paper are appended below:- guest speakers . Articles of significance in Indian and Pakistani newspapers. Periodicals and Journals. Books written by various writers in the subject. A bibliography of the above means and sources is appended at the end of the text. Organisation of the Dissertation In the course of the dissertation, the subject is proposed to be analysed in the following parts: (a) Chapter II. Historical Perspective of Pak Army Ideology. (b) Chapter III. Pak Failed Democracy or State (c) Chapter IV. Wars with India, their impact on policy formulation.. (d) Chapter V. Civil Military Relations and their dynamics. (e) Chapter VI. Influence Of Pak Army On Relations With India. (f) Conclusion. (g) Bibliography CHAPTER II HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF PAKISTAN ARMY IDEOLOGY As we look into the events that unfolded after 14 Aug 1947we would come to the conclusion that very few nations come into existence as India and Pakistan came into being. The partition of British india into two independent nations of India and Pakistan has a long and sorrow saga of violence, mistrust, betrayal and a sense of unfullfillment Of the objectives for which this division was sought by their political leaders. The initial problems have continued till date and there is little hope for a peaceful, permanent solution.The problems which have become a more or less a permanent feature in relations between the two countries are (a) The territorial claims of J K (b) Disproportionate arms acquisition as seen by each other. (c) Nuclear Status. (d) Partition of undivided India. The partition of British India also included division of the Army between India and Pakistan.The war department was split on 19 July 1947 and many units began moving components to the destinations on either side of the border. The task was not an easy one as the numbers were large the British Indian Army was 400,000 strong.It was decided that Indian Army would get 2,60,000 with balance allotted to Pakistan. Out of the twenty nine infantry regiments Pakistan received eight a similar ratio of division took place in other fighting arms. The transformation was not easy and in most of the cases it ended in sorrow while in some cases it ended in slaughter although it was not of a soldier killing a fellow soldier. Creation of a new stste did not have an auspicious beginning. It is not surprising that the distrust engendered by mass slaughter has continued to linger on even today. Another reason for the distrust formulated in the psyche of the Pakistan was the fact that in the middle of chaos and terror the newborn armies had a tough and challenging task of creating a balanced fighting forces.India got a large proportion of base installation as most of the stores, depots were located within India.It had been worked out that 170,000 tons of equipment and stores were to be dispatched to Pakistan in 300 train loads actually Pakistan only received three railway wagon loads from India containing obsolete or useless items such as prophylactics left over from early treatment centers set up during the Second World War in Burma as recalled by General Gul Hassan . This denial of equipment to Pakistan contributed to the rapid souring of relations. The territories were to be distributed by two commissions chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, an eminent jurist who lacked knowledge about the subcontinent. Mountbatten the then Viceroy of British India is supposedly to have used all his charm to persuade the rulers of approximate 500 independent Princely States to accede to India rather than to Pakistan. He succeeded but with three exceptions of Hyderabad, Junagarh and Kashmir.The Nawab of Junagarh immediately after partition declared accession to Pakistan it was within Indian territory so it accession was not practicable ,as it had only 20 percent muslim population its accession was not logical either. Hyderabad was also a similar problem as 86 per cent of its population was hindu but Kashmir was a muslim dominated state with a hindu ruler who wanted to be independent. Thus amidst this chaos India did military action in Junagarh after its Nawab fled to Pakistan .The Nizam of Hyderabad Osman Ali had not decided to opt for either of the countries the and there was a standstill which lasted till 13 september 1947 when Indian troops took over the state. Thus,in two of the desputed territories there had been solutions one in Junagarh involved plebiscite favouring India and other at Hyderabad involving military action .The problem of Kashmir was similar but was not solved and has led to was and tension between two countries since then. The actions by India in Junagarh, Hyderabad and the Kashmir dispute had a very negative effect in the general psyche of Pakistan towards India who now came to be seen as a nation which could use force to re-unite the subcontinent. This fear was the initial trigger in formulation of policies within Pakistan and was instrumental in deciding its international policies and relations .We can argue that these notions were not correct and an extension of imagination by Pakistan but it should be remembered that when it was critical for Pakistan to stabilize its internal situation India ,although was also doing the same inside its territories ,was insensitive and committed actions without taking Pakistan into confidence thus augmented Pakistans fears against India. In view of the above arguments it is clear that the problems and the inadvertent actions by India to solve then coupled with the scars of a bloody partition made Pakistan security conscious and its leaders were of the opinion that with a large neighbour who doe not hesitate to use force Pakistans territorial integrity was at a risk. This formulated the foundation of Pakistan policies to be formulated and followed. The policy of leaders, whether civil or military, was to strengthen defense of Pakistan at all conditions and cost. The chaos and internal problems made the political elected representatives dependent on the bureaucracy to run the administration and on the army to safeguard territorial integrity of the nation and maintain law and order . The army should only be called for maintenance of law and order duties only in exceptional cases but in Pakistan it became a regular feature and paved the way for future role which the Army had to play. Although Indian and Pakistani armies had a common origin in the old British Indian Army their employment and conduct differed drastically some differences are :- (a) Pakistan Army has been ruling the nation for more than 32 years since it attained independence and so it has acquired great influence and powers within the politics and society. (b) The Pakistan army was created from scratch and it led to a mixed legacy of pride and bitterness at having to create a virtually new army in the face of active Indian hostility. (c) The basis of creaton of Pakistan was to created as an Islamic state, so its army had to adapt to Islamic principles and practices and used it to build upon its strength. (d) After partition the responsibility of the defence of the North West Frontier Provinces was that of Pakistan , changing its entire strategic outlook. The unique feature of composition of Pakistan Army is that it is dominated by Punjabi Muslims. The Pakistan army had something like 60 percent Punjabi Muslims and the next bigger chunk from the North West Frontier Province. Thus, the army came to be dominated by the Punjabi-Pathan, psyche and culture of defiance, unwillingness to accept defeat, and not accepting responsibility for it by transferring it to someone else, further an urge to dominate, certain recklessness and a deep desire for revenge. As has already been mentioned that Punjabi Muslim officers formed the majority of the Offr cadre and thus acquired a influential position in the newly formed state of Pakistan: they stressed that the intrinsic worth of Pakistan was the Islamic character of Pakistan this was in turn to be reflected in the Islamic character of the military. They propagated , the history of Pakistan had its origin to Muslim dominance in South Asia and Pakistanis were natural conquerors of the region as their purer religion was an asset and their aggressive character. These beliefs led to the belief of the supremacy of Pakistani martial classes over Hindu India. Since its inception the military rulers have had a great say in formulating policies ,laws which shaped Pakistans destiny. The Army is dominated by Punjabis which come from affluent land lord ,industrial class ,these classes traditionally have been the ruling elite thus the Army officers belonging to these regards military ascendancy of politics not only as a right but as a duty as well. The degree to which military represent interests of others is a debatable issue further , the army has steadily extended its field to include protection of the national ideology, as per its own interpretation . Under Zia ideology of Pakistan being a Muslim state changed, in due course of time, to an Islamic polity and now it has further changed to Pakistan being a nation of enlightened moderation. General Zias Islamisation campaign affected both Pakistani society and the Army Zia tried to build a more puritanical and devout Army and allowed some religious groups like Tabligh e Jamat .to become acti ve in the Army.He was also the first Army Chief to attend the annual conventions of this group.Zia religion to be integrated in the syllabus of the staff college and encouraged the study of Islams teachings regarding the conduct of war. The unquestionable military professionalism of the Pakistan army is resultant of the fighting traditions and natural instincts of people of North-West India. The problem of Pakistan Army is that it has a constricted base of its recruitment, and a far larger role is played by tribal and clan factor which tend to deal with proficient matters in a similar manner which on a hindsight is constricted ethnic viewpoint. This clan background increases the stress to prove that one is more courageous and aggressive than the other, with little consideration to the cost of such action an institute like would have to pay and an example of such foolhardiness in Pakistan Army can be that of the Kargil misadventure undertaken by it on such considerations. The Pakistan army guards their integrity , protects their position in the society, and wants to protect a foundation or an idea since the day Pakistan was created. Further it has been dynamic in establishment of internal law and order. Furthermore, it has forever regarded itself as the special expression of the idea of Pakistan, and a few officers have advocated an activist role in reforming the society where it has fallen below the standard of excellence set by the military. The professionalism of the Pakistan army has been strongly influenced by the philosophy of Pakistan. During 1980s the army began to assume the role of the only defender of the countrys ideological frontiers. This resulted in change in the social culture of the army, and its officer corps. The Pak army officer corps influences the defense policy as well as politics of Pakistan. The military has maintained its supremacy in politics has been successfully projecting itself as saviours of the state, it has laid claim of the sole agency capable of promoting and safeguarding national integration and prevailing only when it becomes necessary to prevent collapse. Post independence, the Pakistan army identified and stressed that Islam was a unifying force. There are regular attempts by military think tanks to decrease the degree of influence of British Indian army patterns and the need to alter as per Islamic principles. A Lieutenant General involved with training in the army states , Islam is a religion in which certain amount of regimentation is germane. You have a system, a core, so basically therefore, for a Muslim, as I see it; he gets a certain orientation, a certain organisation and a certain discipline. General Zia tried to change the ethos of the army, making Islamic custom and teachings part of the armys day-to-day activities. He changed the motto of the army from Jinnahs Unity, Faith and Discipline to Iman, Taqwa, Jihad fi Sabeelillah (Faith, Obedience of God and Struggle in the Path of Allah) and even allowed members of the fundamentalist Tableeghi Jamaat to preach at the PMA. Many Muslim officers had to choose between India and Pakistan during partition and a fairly large number chose this option. Most probably they thought that they would have more opportunities in an Islamic state vis a vis a secular democracy having a Hindu majority. The occurrence of partition established the worst doubt of these officers. It taught Pakistani officers one basic rule: trust no one in a situation of a Hindu or Sikh vs. Muslim and take nothing for granted, except when you have the force to defend yourself. This suspicion (but not fear) of communal enemies was imprinted on the psyches of almost all officers in the new Pakistan army. Later the distribution of military stores and non receipt of the promised stores from India, Indian actions in Kashmir,Junagarh and Hyderabad, made Pakistan officers formulate a sense of distrust and perception- real or imagined that India was dishonest in its dealings especially when it come to Pakistan are part of the inheritance of the present-day Pakistan army. Pakistani officers of subsequent generations believe in this mistrust of India as a primary postulation, which is as true as the formulation of their country and it would take a herculean effort of both sides to completely erase this belief from the subconscious mind. . Pakistan Army is perceived to be a highly motivated and a disciplined organisation. The people have conventionally shown great admiration, even high regard, for its officers and soldiers, who have time and again performed when the time of reckoning, come. On the other hand the military leadership has frequently let the military and the country down. Slowly, respect, has been replaced by a feeling of fear and hatred and has generated dialogue on the army and its role in the countrys polity. During the Zia regime in the late 1980s, people were so fed up with the uniform and its interference in daily life that many Army officers desisted going in public places in uniform . During 1990s, hatred of the military was due to the fact that the army was seen encroaching into the commercial life of the cities and even agriculture.Even during the time Musharraf was in power People minced no words when it came to criticizing the military but they taked within the four walls of their houses.They adjusted to the military rule which it seems to have become habit of sorts.

Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael - Paradigms of Yesterday Essay -- Quinn Ishmae

Ishmael:  Ã‚   Paradigms of Yesterday  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "Come with me if you want to live," was all that Arnold Schwarzenegger said in his movie Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and after reading Daniel Quinn's masterpiece Ishmael, one might well receive the impression Quinn echoes such sentiments. Few books have as much relevancy in this technological, ever-changing world as Ishmael. In the beginning, according to Ishmael, God created Man to live peacefully on Earth, sustained by the fruitful bounties of Earth and subject to God's control. That is, until Man ate of the Tree of Good and Evil in the Garden Of Eden, and conveniently forgot all the rules God had so graciously placed in front of him. From that point on, the Caucasian race, full of vanity and pride for having seen so clearly what was good on the Earth and what was not, decided to subjugate the Earth to its will. During this turn of events, totalitarian agriculture was born. And God just shook his head. Fortunately, there are creatures on the Earth still willing to teach Man about his roots, and at the same time save Man from his selfdestructive impulses. Enter Ishmael, a gorilla with a conscience. Yes, a gorilla. Caged and controlled by man, Ishmael developed a self-awareness of his situation and of man's. Realizing that his destiny is intertwined with man's, he decides to save man from himself. Placing an ad in the papers, Ishmael finds a willing if disillusioned student, and presents a course of education guaranteed to save the world. Makes one wonder if the sign in Ishmael's office reads true, "With gorilla gone, will man survive?" The pupil finds that all he has learned about history is a lie, created by power hungry men two thousand years ago intent on ruling the w... ...If one does, one ends up fragmenting the entire food chain. Ecologically speaking, the Taker way of life was doomed from the beginning. However, the reader experiences a sense of pleasure as Quinn points out that many of the primitive societies have a great deal of wisdom they can teach the world on how to live in a self-sustaining society. Of course, new ideas will mean that the paradigms of yesterday will have to be discarded. However, if innovative solutions to today's ecological problems can be found, and the wisdom of ages is preserved, man has a shot at not committing cultural suicide. In trying to control all other life on the planet man has overstepped his bounds. In the end, man must realize that he is interconnected to all other life on Earth. Just consider, for a moment, the reverse side of Ishmael's office sign. "With man gone, will gorilla survive?"

Bureaucratic vs Democratic

bureaucratic VS The structure of the organization alone is not sufficient for the efficiency of the organization, the manpower of the organization employed in that structure also have an equally important part to play. In the absence of efficient and specialized personnel, even the effective structure power is a failure. Therefore public administration places a great deal of importance to the study of personnel management. There are different types of personnel systems being practiced by different countries around the world. Two of which are: * Bureaucratic system of personnel Democratic system of personnel BUREAUCRATIC SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL â€Å"A personnel system where a body of public servants are organized in a hierarchical system which stands outside the sphere of public control. † DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL â€Å"A personnel system where no one man has any more intrinsic right to official station than other. † COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN BUREAUCRATIC AND DEMOC RATIC Feature 1 Bureaucratic System: The main feature of this system is that the officials are servants of the ruler in the fullest sense of the term. They are responsible to him and him alone.It is through them that the ruler exercises his autocratic powers and they, being the agents of the ruler, in their turn, wield high authority over the people and are, as a rule deaf to public opinion. Democratic System: There is no class division in the services. An employee may begin in the lowest grade of the public service and may progress to the top of the service. In every service methods of objective tests, like efficiency ratings and rating scales, have been established and promotions are based upon these records there being absolutely no restriction on promotions from one class to another.Comparison: While comparing the above contrasting feature of both the systems it became quite evident that in Bureaucratic system the officials major concern is to be in accordance with the expectati ons of the ruler or government. They don’t care about the general public because there public credibility or the decisions taken solely for the welfare of the public is not going to provide them benefit but on the other hand if they take any decision which is not very likeable or favorable for the government then the officials might face some frictions.Whereas in democratic system, different forms of evaluation methods are in practices and based on these standard methods the officials are promoted. That’s why the officials perform their duties efficiently to increase their ratings on these evaluations. So to sum it up, the major concern of attention of officials in bureaucratic system is the government or the rulers whereas the in democratic system, officials are not under authority of the government to the extent as the bureaucratic ones are. Therefore their major concern is their own better performance. Feature 2Bureaucratic System: The officials are organized as a d istrict branch of the government like those of the military branch. They are recruited and trained on strict technical lines so as to make them expert administrators in their respective branches of administration. Thus, they have to apply their skill and experience to the solution of the problems of the civil government of the country just as the military officials have to apply their military skill to the defence of the country. Democratic System: Educational requirements at the time of entrance are of a highly specialized ature rather than of a general character. â€Å"The effort is made to secure persons already possessing the particular technical training fitting them to perform the work called for by the particular to be filled† Comparison: The bureaucratic system relies on the training and supervision of the officials. They don’t go for the already specialized administrations rather they believe in hiring may be an amateur person and then developing and building him into a specialized professional after keeping him under a regress.The officials are given specific training according to the requirements of the department or branch of administration where they should be serving. The democratic system does not favor training inspite it relies on hiring already specialized officials to be appointed on the positions compatible with their qualifications and specialized skills. Bureaucratic system believes that every task is specific so to deal with it specific things should be provided whereas the democratic system believes that the specialized individuals should be hired, their specialization would be enough to manage almost anything.Feature 3 Bureaucratic System: Civil service becomes a district and permanent career, with a regular gradation of positions with fixed grades, salaries and other privileges and a set system of promotions. And with these grades, certain titles and honors also are attached which continue even after the retirement of th e person. Thus, a district official class is created in the society with its own etiquette, powers and prerogatives. Democratic System: No effort is made to make public service a life career.All the above mentioned requirements point to the fact that every individual has full freedom to enter government service at any stage and similarly leave it whenever he pleases. Comparison: It can be said that the bureaucratic system bonds an individual with it. Once the individual becomes the administrative official, the title and honors remain with him forever. It is due to the fact that the system works on their official a lot by providing them training and education.Whereas in democratic system, as the individual are hired with their own skills and specialization, the system does not bond the individual with them rather the official can leave wherever he wants or gets a more appealing opportunity. This shows that the bureaucratic system is appropriate and suitable for the country where the public sector has the major share in the economic says of the country, it wants to keep the skilled and educated manpower with the state whereas the democratic system backs the private sector, the specialized individuals are given charming offers by private enterprises due to which they opt out of the public sector.CONCLUSION Both the systems are efficient in their own respective domains, both need to adopt some improvements in their structure. The bureaucratic system should take care of the hazards of red tapism, corruption etc. which are common in this system. The democratic system also needs to amend itself. It should add some time to time training to their officials according to the changing trends of the society. Also in the countries where democratic system is practiced, the public sector should introduce some incentives so that the officials stay along with the public sector.

Leadership Case Study

Leadership in General The study of leadership has an extremely long history, and presently is one of the most popular areas of management study and publishing. Yet, despite this long history of interest in the subject of leadership much is still unknown and unresolved about the idea of leadership. Today, there are many different conceptions about what constitutes leadership and effective leaders. Notice that most people talk about leadership as if they clearly understand what constitutes leadership. They also assume that other people share that unspoken understanding.Yet, both of these assumptions are probably false most of the time. Leadership in General For example, try to clearly and concisely define what you mean by â€Å"leadership. † Then ask someone else for their definition of leadership. Can either of you define it well? Do your definitions agree? Are your definitions so broad that they could describe activities that you do not think constitute leadership? Conversely, are your definitions so narrow that they cannot describe leadership in a variety of different situations? Now define â€Å"management. Is your definition of â€Å"management† different than your definition of â€Å"leadership? † Should â€Å"management† and â€Å"leadership† be defined differently, or are they in reality the same concept? The questions could go on, but you get the point. Leadership is difficult to define and differentiate from other concepts. Now think about what constitutes â€Å"effective† leadership? Hundreds, if not thousands, of books on leadership have been published over the past two or three decades. Each book propounds a somewhat unique theory of what constitutes â€Å"effective† leadership; each supporting its claims with anecdotes and testimonials.Similarly, magazine articles, television shows, and books constantly herald the newest effective leader. Often, a few years later, either the company fails or the lead er acts in a manner that calls into question whether that person ever possessed the leadership qualities and behaviors attributed to him or her. Think about the rise and fall of some chief executive officers over the past few years. But, does defrauding people, ending up in jail, or bankrupting a company necessarily mean that the person was never an effective leader?  Also you can read about  History of the Culinary Arts.Some might argue the final results determine the effectiveness of leadership; others might argue that it is the process of leading, not the outcome, that defines effective leadership. Despite all this uncertainty, people are so fascinated by the idea of â€Å"leaders† that they continue to believe that â€Å"leadership† exists and matters. This course cannot possibly reconcile all the competing leadership theories, nor can it do much to explain why some apparently effective leaders fail miserably later, or fail as leaders in some other aspect of th eir life. Moreover, few of us want to read about every leadership theory ever espoused by someone.Rather, the primary objective of this course (and the textbook) is to introduce you to a variety of different leadership theories that have some research support and have stood the test of time (to varying degrees). When people make conflicting claims about leadership, the scientific model proposes that research should be conducted to determine which of the competing theories has more factual support. Without research, there would be no way to determine which plausible theory better reflects reality, or whether any theory actually reflects reality.Chapter 1- The Nature and Importance of Leadership There are many different definitions of leadership, and the textbook outlines several definitions. However, most definitions have the common theme that leadership is about influencing people to achieve goals that are accepted by the group members, or followers. Notice that this theme doesn't l imit leadership to formal leadership positions, nor does it say that there can only be one leader at a time, or that leadership only flows from the â€Å"top-down. † The other common theme in many definitions is that leadership is a process, not a role.Thus, many people can be leaders at the same time because all are involved in the leadership process. One person may be more effective than the other people. But all of the people could be acting as â€Å"leaders† in the process sense of leadership. In this light, leadership is a broad construct that encompasses many different types of influence from many different types of people in many different types of contexts. While this is a broad definition, maybe more of a description, some people question whether there is any great value in trying to more narrowly define leadership.The study of what determines the effectiveness of different influence techniques in organizations doesn't necessarily require agreement on the defi nition of the overarching construct, or what is called leadership. On the other hand, the argument can be made that a better definition of leadership helps ensure that everyone is discussing the same concept. There is no clear answer to this debate, but for the purposes of this course leadership refers to the processes that people use to influence other people to achieve accepted goals. The leader is simply the person or persons who are making that influence effort.Another critical point of the chapter is that leadership outcomes result from the reciprocal interactions of the â€Å"leader,† followers (or â€Å"group members†), and the situation. Although we often think of leadership as a one-way influence, the leadership process necessarily includes the context in which the influence attempt occurs (i. e. , the situation) and the object of the influence attempt (i. e. , the followers). Thus, followers shape the leader's behaviors and attitudes just like leaders shape t he followers' attitudes and behaviors.In the extreme case of â€Å"servant leadership† and â€Å"stewardship† models of leadership, the general thrust is that effective leaders focus on aiding or facilitating the followers. This in turn helps the leader accomplish organizational goals. This general framework shapes the organization of the book (see Figure 1-2). The distinction between â€Å"leaders† and â€Å"manager† is discussed in this chapter (see Table 1-1 Leaders versus Managers). Leader| Manager| Visionary| Rational| Passionate| Businesslike| Creative| Persisitent| Inspiring| Tough-Minded| Innovative| Analytical| Imaginative| Deliberative| Experimental| Authoritative|Warm and Radiant| Cool and reserved| Initiator| Implementer| Acts as a coach, consultant, teacher| Acts as a boss| Does the right things| Does things right| Inspires through great ideas| Commands through position| Knows results are achieved through people| Focuses on results| Focuses o n uplifting ideas| Focuses on plumbing| The distinction is largely unproductive because the extent to which a person performs managerial versus leadership roles is largely a question of degree, as the book points out. Managers' jobs are difficult enough without considering them to be second-class citizens incapable of leadership.In fact, effective leaders need to be good managers, and vice versa. This is highlighted in the textbook's discussion of leadership roles because many of them could also be characterized as â€Å"managerial† roles. Moreover, according to a common framework proposed by Henry Mintzberg, leadership is only one of many managerial roles. (See Mintzberg, H. (1980). The Nature of Managerial Work. Prentice Hall. ) A major concern relating to the first chapter is the issue of whether leadership makes a difference in reality. While this question could have been put off until the end of the course it is useful to at least think about it now.Then, you can see if your opinions change during the course. Moreover, before devoting time to studying leadership one should know whether the time will be well-spent. The general conclusion is that leadership makes a difference in many cases, but not in all situations. When there are factors that substitute for leadership (or even neutralize leadership attempts), leaders may not be able to make much difference. The book outlines a number of factors that substitute for leadership, but there are many more factors that have been researched with mixed results.In reality, there is no evidence that leadership substitutes always exist, or that they necessarily undercut attempts at leadership. Therefore, people should be careful about attributing success or failures solely to leadership. Leaders can only do so much given the constraints they face. The existence of constraints is the basis for Pfeffer's â€Å"leader irrelevance† theory. Similarly, â€Å"complexity† theory holds that leaders have l ittle influence in complex organizational systems. For example, look at coaches and managers in profession sports.Often they are fired after poor seasons, yet no new manager or coach can succeed either because their players simply aren't as good as the other players and teams in the league. Usually they have little control over which players are hired, which makes it even more irrational to attribute the success or failure of the coach to his or her leadership ability. Another common example is organizational success in good economic times and organizational downturns in poor economic times. Obviously, the economy is out of any individual's control, so good times and bad times cannot be attributed to the leader.On the next page, you will read an excerpt from an article that suggests that leadership does make a difference. Leadership Makes a Difference Below you can read a short excerpt from an article about Commander D. Michael Abrashoff and what he calls â€Å"Grassroots Leadershi p. † This article suggests that leadership does make a difference. But what makes this a particularlyinteresting leadership anecdote is that it appears that the best explanation for the dramatic improvement on the ship is probably the change in commanders. The reason is that all Navy ships operate under substantially similar rules with basically similar crews.Therefore, when a change occurs on one ship that doesn't occur on other ships, then the change is quite likely due to whatever changed in the situation, in this case the change in leadership. Whether you find the article persuasive or not, the other point is that by the end of the course you should be able to characterize Commander Abrashoff's leadership style in terms of the theories you will be studying in this course. Enlightened Leadership in the U. S. Navy by Jonette Crowley Commander D. Michael Abrashoff had a mission. Through what he calls â€Å"Grassroots Leadership,† he turned around the operations of the USS Benfold, one of the U.S. Navy's most modern warships. His methods aren't complex, yet the results are astounding. * Under Mike Abrashoff's 20-month command, the Benfold operated on 75% of its allocated budget, returning $1. 4 million to the Navy coffers. * During that time, the ship's combat readiness indicators were the highest ever in the history of the Pacific Fleet. * The promotion rate of his people was 2-1/2 times the Navy average. * The pre-deployment training cycle, which usually takes a total of 52 days, was completed by the Benfold crew in just 19 days. During a 12-month period under the previous command, there were 28 disciplinary actions for which 23 sailors were discharged. During Abrashoff's tenure there were five disciplinary cases and no discharges. * Under his predecessor 31 people were detached from the ship for limited duty, usually for complaints of â€Å"bad backs. † He had only two crew members leave for health reasons. * A third of all recruits don' t make it through their first term of enlistment, and only 54% of sailors stay in the Navy after their second duty tour. Commander Abrashoff had 100% of the Benfold's career sailors signing on for another tour.It is estimated that this retention alone saved the Navy $1. 6 million in 1998. What did he do to stage such a turnaround in less than 20 months? He asked questions, he listened, he acted on what he heard. Almost immediately upon taking command, he had a 15 to 20 minute personal interview with each of his staff of 300. He asked these questions: * â€Å"What do you like best about this ship? † * â€Å"What do you like least? † * â€Å"What would you change if you could? † He made it a point to â€Å"see the ship from the eyes of each crew member. † Abrashoff acted as quickly as he could to institute the ideas that came from these interviews.He focused on what was important: morale and combat readiness. â€Å"I didn't put an emphasis on paperwork,â⠂¬  says Abrashoff. He encouraged his middle managers (junior officers) to delegate the paperwork that had always swamped them and focus instead on the training that enabled them to run the weapons and the ship. â€Å"That inspires confidence in the officers for our combat readiness, and the lower level people loved the responsibility for the paperwork stuff that the officers used to do,† the commander reports. Abrashoff analyzed the processes, always assuming that there has got to be a better way.Simply following SOP (Standard Operating Procedures), or doing things the way they've always been done, didn't hold water. The rules were changed or bent, always with the vision in mind of doing what was best for the crew. â€Å"Saving money wasn't the focus, it was a by-product of efficiency. We did things right the first time. † He set the vision and trusted his crew. He helped people take pride in their work. â€Å"I gave my officers my trust and free rein. They didn't w ant to lose that trust. † Abrashoff said, â€Å"I focused on doing right by the crew, not by the admirals.I didn't even care if I ever got promoted again. That gave me the freedom to do what made sense. † One of the biggest complaints was the food, so he sent five of the Benfold's cooks to culinary school. The ship is now known as having some of the best food in the Navy, making it a showcase for VIPs. By focusing on the needs and ideas of his people, by relaxing the rules, by giving control over to his officers, a ship's culture has been changed, and with it the lives and confidence of scores of young sailors. A â€Å"virtuous cycle† has been set up that is continuing to inspire the crew to do even better.Even after Mike Abrashoff has taken up other duties at his home base in San Diego, the USS Benfold continues to have the highest combat readiness indicators ever seen in the entire Pacific Fleet.  © 1999 Enlightened Leadership Int'l, Inc. Enlightened Leadersh ip International Transforming Organizations Through People www. enleadership. com [email  protected] com 800-798-9881 or 303-729-0540 Chapter 2 – Traits, Motives and Characteristics of Leaders Trait-based theories of leadership are among the oldest leadership theories, and they are still considered somewhat important today.The earliest theories were â€Å"universal† theories that tried to find the leader's personal qualities that differentiated effective from ineffective leaders in all situations. Although these personal characteristics and qualities are usually called traits, they are not limited to personality traits (inner qualities). For example, the textbook refers to many different personal characteristics, including personality traits, in Chapter 2. Unfortunately, the trait approach does not tell us which traits are most important, in which situations or how much of a trait is required.The biggest problem was that people who possessed the traits deemed critica l were not always leaders, i. e. , the traits were necessary, but not sufficient for leadership. Moreover, trait-based theories cannot explain why people are not always successful leaders in all situations. History is full of military leaders who were effective in war, but not in peace. The converse is also true. On the other hand, recent research has found that some traits are important in a wide-variety of situations, but not all situations. In addition, in specific situations there are likely to be specific traits that are important.The â€Å"trait-based† theories do not limit themselves to personality traits, so do not be fooled into limiting the scope of the personal qualities to personality dimensions. The theories include any characteristic on which individuals differ, such as intelligence, physical characteristics, attitudes, values, and personality traits, to name a few. At some point, the distinction between a trait and a behavior is blurred, but in general the dist inction is between â€Å"who you are† versus â€Å"what you do. † The textbook lists a wide-range of traits found to be important, and categorizes them into: * Personality Traits Motives and Drives * Power Motive * Tenacity * Strong Work Ethic * Drive and Achievement Motive * Cognitive Factors * Analytical Intelligence * Knowledge of the business * Creativity * Insight into people and situations * Farsightedness and conceptual thinking While you don't need to memorize every possible leadership trait, it is worthwhile reading the lists. You should be able to recognize the most important traits. Perhaps more importantly, you should be able to reject some traits as unrelated to effective leadership, such as gender and race.In conclusion, research suggests that effective leaders possess different personal characteristics than ineffective leaders or non-leaders. Knowing which traits are associated with leadership effectiveness helps in the selection of leaders. To the exten t you can train people to develop a trait, knowing the importance of different traits helps organizations to design leadership development programs. For example, some aspects of emotional intelligence, which is a collection of traits and behaviors, can be taught and practiced. The trait-based approach to leadership is less valuable ecause present research cannot definitively specify which traits, and how much of those traits, are most useful in a specific situation. General Comments about Assignments Write your answers and comments concisely, answering the question(s) as directly as possible. Remember, you must answer the questions about cases using the facts of the case and the concepts introduced in the textbook and any additional readings. The general format for all your case answers is to relate the concepts and principles from the textbook or other readings to the facts in the case.Reporting all sorts of background information is unnecessary. However, you do need to refer back to the facts in the case that support your statements and conclusions. Your answer will be graded on the quality of your analysis and its clarity. It is difficult to describe the length of and amount of detail that should be in good answers. Obviously, this is a judgment call that varies case by case, and question by question. However, usually you can write good answers in 500-700 words per case, although obviously this varies according to the number of questions you are asked to answer.You may exceed the word limits without penalty when necessary to adequately answer the questions. Review the Syllabus for more information on answering case assignment questions, but in general good tests of the quality of your analysis is to ask yourself â€Å"Does this answer show that I read and understood the material in the text? † and â€Å"Could I have written this answer without reading the book? † As for the self-assessment exercises in this course, if there is more than one se lf-assessment exercise assigned during the week, then you must submit all of your scores and comments in one assignment submission.When more than one self-assessment exercise is assigned in a week, clearly identify the separate exercises. Don't forget to discuss whether you think the score is an accurate reflection of you or the person being evaluated. Other reflections are also valuable. Refer to the Syllabus for more detailed comments about answering questions and the grading standards. The Syllabus controls in the event of some accidental inconsistency between the Weekly Schedule and the Syllabus. General Instructions for Submitting Assignments What follows is a brief review of how to submit assignments. For details, efer to the Welcome page. Submit your answers to the assignments by locating the assignment within each weekly module. You can also find the list of assignments by going to the Assignments tool over in the toolbar on the left. But if you only use the toolbar, you may miss important information that is contained within each weekly module. Make certain you choose the correct assignment and submit the correct answer for that assignment. This week you will be submitting†1. 1 – Week 1 Case Assignment† for your answer to the case assignment and â€Å"1. 2 – Week 1 Self-Assessment Exercise† for your self-assessment answers.Next week and in the following weeks, the set-up will always be the same. You will NOT be attaching a document to submit. I suggest you compose your answer in a Word document so that you can edit and spell check but for submission, copy and paste your answer into the text box under the word â€Å"submission† in the assignment tool. If you submit the answer to the wrong link, your answer will not be graded. You can be penalized for late submissions, as outlined in the Syllabus. Required Readings The following items are required reading for this week: DuBrin, A. (2013) Leadership: Research Findi ngs, Practices, and Skills (7th ed).Mason, OH: South-Western * Chapter 1: The Nature and Importance of Leadership * Chapter 2: Traits, Motives and Characteristics of Leaders Copies of these two chapters are included in the â€Å"Textbook eReserves† folder on the Course Homepage for your convenience. If you have not yet purchased your textbook, you should do so immediately. Please go to MBS Direct to find the appropriate textbooks for this course. Discussions After reading the course materials and required readings, you should be prepared to participate in our weekly discussion. * Week 1 Discussion – Effective LeadersIdentify a person you interact with and regard as an effective leader. * What traits described by DuBrin in Chapter 2 apply to this person? * What traits do not apply? * Do these affect his or her overall performance? If so, how Once you post your answer please respond to at least one other students' post. A link to the discussion can be found on the follow ing page. Assignments Please complete the following assignments and submit via the Assignments tool. You will find a link to each of these assignments within this module. Directions for completing the assignments can be found in the syllabus.Remember to use the text box for your submission – Do not attach a document. * Case Study * Ch. 1 Leadership Case Problem A – Mike Todman Makes a Splash at Whirlpool. Pgs. 30-31 * Questions 1, 2, and 3. * Self Assessments * Ch. 1 Quiz 1-1 Readiness of the Leadership Role. Pgs. 11 – 12 * Ch. 2 Quiz 2-2 Behaviors and Attitudes of a Trustworthy Leader. Pg. 42 This week you will continue studying leader traits in the context of charismatic leaders and transformational leaders. Charisma is clearly a trait the some people possess, which suggests it may be difficult to teach, i. e. the â€Å"right stuff† of leadership. However, there is some evidence that if a person exhibits behaviors that followers associate with charismat ic people, the person will be seen as charismatic. Thus, perhaps charisma can be taught, or, at least, faked. When a leader's charisma is oriented towards transforming an organization, it becomes one factor in transformational leadership. However, transformational leadership encompasses more than charismatic leaders. Transformational leaders focus on developing the followers and getting them to direct their efforts towards changing the status quo.This contrasts with the idea of â€Å"transactional† leaders who primarily focus on exchanges with the followers that result in the maintenance of the status quo. Thus, transformational leadership relates to organization development and change; therefore, this aspect of leadership is taught in most organizational behavior courses. Then we completely shift the focus away from â€Å"trait-based† theories of leadership to â€Å"behavior-based† or â€Å"behavioral† leadership theories. Behavioral theories suggest tha t â€Å"leaders can be made† by teaching would-be leaders the behaviors used by effective leaders.As you will see, leader's traits are not part of this group of leadership theories, although they may predispose people to behave certain ways. Basically, the simplest model divides leader behaviors into relationship-oriented and task- or performance-oriented behaviors. There are many variations on this dichotomy, which is the main point of the chapter. Several â€Å"universal† models of leadership emerged from the research on leader behaviors, but like the universal â€Å"trait† models studied last week, the models do not explain why the same leader behaviors are effective in one situation and not in another.However, pay attention to these behavioral models because they form the bases for many of the contingency theories you will see later in the course. Leadership studies conducted at Ohio State University identified the importance of two broadly defined categorie s of leadership, â€Å"consideration† and â€Å"initiating structure†. Consideration is the degree to which leaders interact with others in a friendly and supportive manner. Initiating structure, the second factor, represents how the leader structures his or her subordinate's roles to accomplish common objectives.The Ohio State studies were accompanied by a comprehensive research program at the University of Michigan. The focus of the research at Michigan was on relationships related to leader behavior, group processes and group performance. The principle types of leader behavior identified in the Michigan studies were â€Å"job centered† which is similar to consideration and â€Å"employee centered† which is similar to initiating structure. Required Readings The following items are required reading for this week: DuBrin, A. (2013) Leadership: Research Findings, Practices, and Skills (7th ed).Mason, OH: South-Western * Chapter 3: Charisma and Transformati onal Leadership * Chapter 4: Leadership Behaviors, Attitudes and Styles Additional Readings * Review the article on leadership and emotional intelligence: Goleman, D. , Boyatzis, R. , & McKee, A. (2001). Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 42-51. This and other articles are available from the library website. Click on the Library link in the Course Menu to get direct access to the Webster University library. Be sure to read the material before doing the assignments and discussions.Hover your mouse here: Directions for accessing the Library to see the steps for accessing a database in the Webster University Library. 1. The Library link under the Course Menu on the left side of your course page will take you directly to the Library Resources for Walker School of Business and Technology. 2. In the area â€Å"Find other database content by subject: Choose Business and Financials 3. On the right side of the page, under More Informa tion, choose Journal/magazine/newspaper list. 4. In Find the Journal title, type Harvard Business Review and click Search. 5. The journal will be identified on the next page.Click on Look up Article. 6. In the box that says â€Å"Article Title† type â€Å"Primal Leadership† and in the Date box type â€Å"2001† then click Search. 7. The next page lets you know the article is available. Click Article. 8. On the Journal/Magazine/Newspaper List page, at the middle of the page where it indicates â€Å"Find a journal title†, enter Harvard Business Review and click on Search 9. You will be required to enter your last name, your student number, and EWL at the end of your student number to gain access to the library databases. Chapter 3 – Charismatic and Transformational LeadershipCharismatic Leadership The oldest line of leadership research appears to be the search for the defining traits of leaders. One line of this research was the attempt to explain cha rismatic leaders. Charismatic leaders are so exciting, stimulating, magnetic, and visionary that followers willingly accept their leadership. This clearly roots the idea of charismatic leadership in the realm of trait-based leadership models. As you might expect, the original theorizing about charismatic leaders was not in the organizational context, but around religion and social movements.There are several theories of charismatic leadership, and according to most, charismatic leaders have the following attributes: Charismatic Leadership Attributes| They have compelling visions. | They have masterful communication skills. | They have the ability to inspire trust. | They are able to make group members feel capable. | They have energy and an action orientation. | They have emotional expressiveness and warmth. | They romanticize and take personal risks. | They use unconventional strategies. | They have a self-promoting personality. | They challenge followers. | They are dramatic and u nique. |There are a variety of charismatic leaders, but the most important distinctions are between leaders with personalized power motives versus leaders with socialized power motives. A socialized charismatic leader uses power to benefit the followers and the group, whereas the personalized charismatic leader uses power to serve his or her own interests. This may or may not help the group attain its goals, but attaining those goals is not the focus of the personalized charismatic leader. Research suggests that a person can increase his or her charisma by copying the behaviors of charismatic leaders. These behaviors include the following: 1.Articulate compelling visions for the future 2. Be enthusiastic, optimistic, and energetic (perhaps these are traits, but you can act like you are enthusiastic, optimistic, and energetic) 3. Persist in the face of adversity 4. Personalize your interactions with people, such as remembering their names 5. Maintain your physical appearance 6. Appea r to be candid 7. Reject the status quo or be defiant. Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership is related to charismatic leadership, but this newer group of theories focuses not on the leader's traits, but on the transformation of the organization.Perhaps being charismatic helps, but it is not enough to transform an organization. The transformational leader helps bring about major, positive changes in the organization. Four factors are seen as elements of transformational leadership are : * charisma * inspirational leadership * intellectual stimulation * individualized consideration According to one transformational leadership theory, the transformational leaders can be contrasted with a transactional leader. The transactional leader focuses on routine, day-to-day exchanges (or transactions) with the followers.The transactional leader rewards followers who meet existing standards of performance. While the concept of transactional leadership highlights the distinction between maintaining versus transforming an organization, the concept is not used much. Instead, the research focus has been on the more specific theories that you will learn later in the course, such as behavioral or contingency theories of leadership. Chapter 4 – Leadership Behaviors, Attitudes, and Styles This chapter introduces students to research on leadership behaviors, sometimes called leadership styles.When the research on leader traits and other characteristics was relatively unsuccessful in explaining leadership, the research changed orientation from â€Å"what a leader is like† to â€Å"what a leader does. † The focus was on leaders' behaviors, not on their underlying traits. This was a somewhat optimistic shift as well because this line of research indicated that leaders could be trained. This is in contrast to the â€Å"leaders are born† orientation of the trait-based leadership research. There are relatively few important behavior-based uni versal models, and most have been superseded by newer contingency models (discussed in Chapter 5).Knowing these early behavior-based models are important for a couple reasons. First, knowing them help students appreciate how leadership models evolve. Second, they are important because contingency theories (discussed in Chapter 5) attempt to incorporate these behaviors into their frameworks. Behavior-based Leadership Models Researchers at Ohio State University and the University of Michigan were among the first to study what behaviors were used by effective managers or leaders. The research found that effective leadership behaviors can be categorized as focusing on: 1. Relationships with followers (i. . , addressing their social and emotional needs) or 2. The tasks that need to be performed to increase productivity. There are many different terms or phrases describing effective leaders' behaviors. Task-oriented behaviors are called a variety of names, such as: * Work-oriented * Task- oriented * Production-oriented * Concern for production * Initiating structure * Directive behaviors With respect to the social and emotional focus, the labels or names include: people-oriented, worker-oriented, relationship-oriented, social, consideration, concern for people, and concern for relationship. Note: There are subtle differences among the different concepts, but you do not need to know them for this course. ) Some theories assumed that leaders could be either task-oriented (Concern for Results) or relationship-oriented (Concern for People), but not both. However, researchers at Ohio State assumed that leaders could demonstrate high or low amount of each type of behavior. In other words, task-oriented and relationship-oriented behaviors were not mutually inconsistent and a leader could be high on both dimensions, low on both dimensions, or high on one and low on the other dimension.This last view became the foundation for contingency theories and more modern universal mod els, such as the â€Å"Leadership Grid† (see Figure 4-3 pages 126 and 127). The descriptions of the positions on the chart are as follows: * 9,1 Controlling * 1,9 Accommodating * 5,5 Status Quo * 1,1 Indifferent * Paternalistic (1,9 and 9,1) * Opportunistic (all green quadrants) * 9,9 Sound Although behavior-based leadership theories are usually considered to be universal leadership models, the textbook's discussion of â€Å"adaptability† suggests more of a contingency approach. Undoubtedly, the behavioral research can be modified to accommodate ontingencies, but they were originally universal in nature. Other dimensions have also been investigated since the original research, but the importance of behavior-based theories rests primarily in the recognition of two broad dimensions of leader behaviors. You will see this more clearly when you study contingency leadership theories. Participative Leadership The chapter then briefly addresses â€Å"participative leadership. † Despite the relatively little coverage of this topic in the text, a key decision managers and leaders must make is how much to â€Å"empower† the followers.Tannenbaum and Schmidt developed an early model that had a continuum of leadership decision making behaviors that ranged from â€Å"boss-centered† to â€Å"employee-centered† behaviors. This theory focused on allocating decision making authority to employees, ranging from autocratic (â€Å"boss-centered†) to more or less participative (â€Å"employee-centered†) decision making. These two leader decision making behaviors were at opposite ends of a continuum. Therefore, in theory, a leader cannot be autocratic and participative at the same time. However, towards the center of the continuum the two styles blur together somewhat, with moderate levels of each style.The textbook addresses this topic in terms of a subsequent model that divides this continuum into autocratic and participative s tyles. The participative style is subdivided into consultative, consensus, and democratic styles. Issues The text next discusses two issues related to leadership. First, the book describes entrepreneurial leaders' traits and behaviors as if there was one way to be an entrepreneur (i. e. , a universal approach to entrepreneurship). However, this may be misleading because the best entrepreneurial style may depend on the followers and entrepreneurial idea.In other words, quite possibly there are no universally effective entrepreneurial styles. Perhaps future research will shed more light on this issue. Next, the textbook discusses whether men and women have fundamentally different leadership styles that are relatively consistent across situations. If so, in essence these differences would be universal styles for each gender. Past research on gender differences in leadership has been hampered by many factors, such as there being relatively few female leaders of large organizations. In d dition, the observed gender differences may be due to the followers' expectations based on their stereotypes about each gender's typical leadership styles and relatively inflexible social norms that shaped both gender's behaviors. You can draw your own conclusions about the chapter's comments on gender differences in leadership styles. However, it may be useful to reflect on a couple points. First, if you reject the importance of universal models of leadership, then any difference in male and female leadership styles becomes relatively unimportant. If contingency theories are correct, there is no one best way to lead.Thus, neither gender can corner the market on leadership, even if there are relatively stable differences in male and female leaders' preferred leadership styles. Second, there is so much individual variation in preferred leadership styles within each gender that discovering a â€Å"typical† or average style is unlikely to adequately describe the leadership style of any specific person. Many men are relationship-oriented, and many women are task-oriented, contrary to the typical stereotypes. The text concludes this chapter by stating that there is no one best leadership style. This idea sets the stage for the next chapter on contingency theories.Self-Assessment Quizzes I want to make a couple comments about the self-assessment quizzes. My hope is that by answering the questions in the self-assessments you will get a better sense of what the concepts mean and that hopefully you will gain some insight into your traits, styles, and preferences. However, the scores should be taken with a grain of salt because no inventory, and especially short inventories like those you are completing in this class, can accurately assess all your nuances. If you think the total score doesn't reflect you, or that certain questions do not measure you accurately, that is fine.Reflection upon the self-assessment inventories is valuable. Whether you agree with that assessment is of lesser importance. Analysis Paper One of the requirements of this course is for you to complete an Analysis Paper which will be due the last week of the course. For this assignment, you are to read one of the four books listed below. You are to identify the author's purpose for the book, its major themes, principles and concepts, and describe how those themes, principles, and concepts relate to the themes, principles and concepts presented by DuBrin in the text.In other words, I want to see at minimum four (4) concepts from your â€Å"chosen author† and how they to compare to DuBrin: where they agree, where they don't or if they don't. This is not a book review but rather it is an analysis of an outside reading, and the documentation of that reading's relatedness to the material you have been studying throughout this class. Technical Requirements: * The paper should be submitted as a Word document attached to the assignment. * APA citation style is required * Length: 6-10 pages – no more, no less * Double- spaced, 12 point font Must include, at a minimum: * an Abstract * an Introduction Section * a Discussion Section * a Conclusion Section * a Reference page * Both your name and page number must be included on each page of the paper (in a header is preferred). * Be certain you have carefully reviewed the paper for the requirements, misspellings, syntax errors and page numbers. The book you select will need to be obtained from a local library, Webster's library, a bookstore, an online book service such as Amazon. com (linked below), or some other book source.I would encourage you to actually purchase the book so you can retain it for future purposes. The books from which you must choose are: * Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell ( 2011) * It's All politics: Winning in a World Where Hard Work and Talent Aren't Enough by Kathleen Kelley Reardon ( 2006) * Tribal leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization by Dave Logan, John King and Halee Fischer-Wright (2011) * The Zen leader: 10 Ways to Go From Barely Managing to Leading Fearlessly by Ginny Whitelaw (Apr 22, 2012) If, because f special circumstances (i. e. you are out of the country), you are unable to obtain one of the books listed above, and would like to review and report on an alternative, you must send me, no later than the beginning of Week 5, the title of the book you are requesting to use, the date of its copyright, and a valid rationale for using the alternative. An appropriate rationale could be, for example, that none of the books are available to you because you are on military deployment, and book resources at your location are limited.Just wanting to review a book that is: 1) more easily available, 2) one you are currently using in another course, 3) one you have read previously for another class or 4) one you would like to review for personal reasons, is not an adequate reason and will not be approved. Once you have decided on your book, go to the Course Home Page and click on the link entitled â€Å"Analysis Paper Book Sign Up. † Click â€Å"Sign Up† next to the book that you are choosing so that I know which book you will be using. You should choose your book for analysis, and indicate your choice on the sign up sheet, by the end of Week 5.Please be aware: 1. This assignment is due on Wednesday of Week 9 2. Late submissions will NOT be accepted unless arrangements have been made with me personally no later than the beginning of Week 7. 3. You will be required to submit your paper to Turnitin prior to submitting it in the Assignments tool. The Turnitin assignment will be found on the course homepage. Make a copy of the Turnitin originality report to include with the assignment submission. Should you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Week 2 Activities Required Readings The following items are required reading for this week: . DuBrin, A. (2013) Lead ership: Research Findings, Practices, and Skills (7th ed). Mason, OH: South-Western * Chapter 3: Charisma and Transformational Leadership * Chapter 4: Leadership Behaviors, Attitudes and Styles Copies of these two chapters are included in the â€Å"Textbook eReserves† folder on the Course Homepage for your convenience. 1. Also, review the article on leadership and emotional intelligence: Goleman, D. , Boyatzis, R. , & McKee, A. (2001). Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 42-51. DiscussionsAfter reading the course materials and required readings, you should be prepared to participate in our weekly discussion. * Week 2 Discussion – Charasmatic Leadership In Chapter 3 of the text, DuBrin suggests it might be artificial to separate charismatic from transformational leadership. In fact, on page 93 of the text, DuBrin clearly states that charismatic leadership is a component of transformational leadership. Respond to al l 3 questions using concrete examples to support your answer and then respond to at least 1 other student’s posting whose answer you relate to. 1.Have you experienced charismatic leaders who were unable to be transformational? 2. Have you experienced transformational leaders who were not charismatic? 3. What were the circumstances surrounding the situation(s) you have experienced? Once you post your answer please respond to at least one other students' post. Assignments Please complete the following assignments and submit via the Assignments tool. You will find a link to each of these assignments within this module. Remember to use the text box for your submission – Do not attach a document. Directions for completing the assignments can be found in the syllabus. Case Study * Ch. 3 Leadership Case Problem B – Time to Rebound at Willow Pond. Pgs. 101- 102 * Questions 1, 2, and 3. * Self Assessments * Ch. 3 Quiz 3-1 The Emotional Expressiveness Scale. Pgs. 79 †“ 80 * Ch. 4 Quiz 4-2 What Style of Leader Are you or Would You Be? Pgs. 125-126 Analysis Paper The list of available books from which you will choose one will be provided this week. By the end of Week 5, please use the â€Å"Analysis Paper Book Sign Up† link on the Course Homepage to indicate which book you will be reading. You are responsible for obtaining this book on your own. Ch. Quiz 3-1 â€Å"The Emotional Expressiveness Scale†: My composite score for the Chapter 3 Quiz was 72. This score places me in the level that defines my emotionality as â€Å"about right for a charismatic individual† and that I am â€Å"emotionally expressive†. I believe this is fair assessment. On numerous occasions in my past jobs, my employees and co-workers have commented on their trust in my abilities to get the job done and that I will not â€Å"throw them under the bus† for my own gain or as a result of a decision I have made. Also, my last supervisor commente d to me on my vision in leading my division. Ch. Quiz 4-2 â€Å"What Style Leadership Are You or Would You Be? †: I scored 14 on this assessment. The scale defined in the text is that a score of 15 and higher indicates a Participative style and a score of 5 or below indicates an Authoritarian style. There is no description for the scores (like mine) that do not fall in either range. I submit that the leadership style required will depend on the situation and environment you are in at the moment. There are times where you have to be the authoritarian and other times where you have to be more democratic in your approach. The trick is to know when. ) There are several reasons while this case pertains to this chapter on charismatic and transformational leadership. As indicated in the issues Heather and the owners see as most pressing, Willow Pond as an organization that must transform itself from a low performer to a higher level to survive. Considering the task at hand, Heather will have to demonstrate many of the traits of a charismatic leader to be successful. This case demonstrates the need for both utilized in unison to achieve success. 2) There are several key leadership areas where Heather can focus to transform Willow Pond.I will present the three areas that I believe to be the highest priority. First, Willow Pond has been losing money for the past three years. She must concentrate resources where most needed. Especially in the areas that could impact passing the state inspections which could close them down. If this were to occur, not only would the residence by impacted but also the employees. Also, there are services (i. e. wireless internet/fresh paint/improved food quality) that could be put into place that would improve the physical appearance of the facility and the quality of life for the residence.Second, she must work to help the staff understand the need for change. Not only from the possible loose of income but in that the focus of their organization is to take care of people. Mistreating the residents when they make simple requests is an unacceptable behavior. This not only impacts the morale of the residents but can generate a reputation that can cause others not to choose Willow Pond as their assisted living choice. Lastly, I believe she needs to build trust not only in the management and employees but also with the residents that all parties have a vested interest in success.If the residents trust that the staff will take care of them and the employees trust that she is doing all she can to support them, the cumulative effect will be success. 3) Heather can utilize many charismatic aspects of her personality to aid in the transformation of Willow Pond. She will have to employ her â€Å"masterful communication skills† to get her vision on how great Willow Pond can become with everyone’s support. She must be very tactful in her communication to ensure she keeps folks on board with her plans.This is very important considering that Willow Pond has lost money for the last three years and the possibility of the facility being closed if it does not turn around. Additionally, she will need to set the example for others with her energy and her actions by going the extra mile to ensure success. 1. Have you experienced charismatic leaders who were unable to be transformational? 2. Have you experienced transformational leaders who were not charismatic? 3. What were the circumstances surrounding the situation(s) you have experienced 1) Yes. Dubin implies for a leader to be transformational he/she must be charismatic.However, charisma on its own does not make one a transformational leader. If the charismatic leader cannot provide the vision and focus required to change the culture and/or subculture of the organization, he/she will not be effective. 2) Honestly, I cannot say that I have worked for a transformational leader that was not charismatic at some level. 3) What I have experienced are transformational leaders that have several difference levels of charisma. What drove the success of these leaders was their type of charisma match to organization required for transformation.For example, one of my past supervisors was a more reserved personality but was very personable, good at promoting individual growth and setting goals. These traits proved to be valuable in merging two product offices and building a project office organization. He would be a â€Å"Hedgehog† utilizing Jim Collins definitions in the book â€Å"Good to Great†. The flip side, I have had one supervisor who was very charismatic but was not effective in leading transformation. He could not focus the organizations energy on a common goal. Jim Collins would classify him as a â€Å"Fox†.It sounds like he may have been successful in some aspects, but at what cost. This type of work environment not only drives a lot of good people away it has a tendency to taint those who stay. The long term impacts on the organization and personnel may be more harmful than any perceived short-term success. V/R, JS Week 3 Activities Required Readings The following items are required reading for this week: DuBrin, A. (2013) Leadership: Research Findings, Practices, and Skills (7th ed). Mason, OH: South-Western * Chapter 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership * Chapter 6: Leadership Ethics and Social ResponsibilityWeek 3 Overview Overview The contingency model discussed in Chapter 5 assumes that the most effective leadership style or behavior depends on the situation or the followers. The leader's   behaviors are similar to those discussed before, but in this case the appropriate behavior depends on the situation, i. e. , is contingent upon some other factors. The theories differ in terms of what types of contingent factors are important and how leaders should behave in light of those contingent factors. You will need to become familiar with the key contingency variables th at differentiate the various contingency theories.Chapter 6 introduces the concepts of ethical and moral leadership as well as social responsibility. While these topics have always been important, recent events involving arguably unethical leader behaviors makes these ideas more relevant today. Required Readings The following items are required reading for this week: DuBrin, A. (2013) Leadership: Research Findings, Practices, and Skills (7th ed). Mason, OH: South-Western * Chapter 5:   Contingency and Situational Leadership * Chapter 6: Leadership Ethics and Social Responsibility Week 3 Instructor NotesChapter 5 – Contingency and Situational Leadership This chapter introduces the concept of contingency leadership, or what has also been called situational leadership ( Hershey and Blanchard). . The theories collected in this general category extend the behavior-based leadership research by recognizing that specific leader behaviors are more effective in some situations than o ther situations. In other words, the most effective leadership behavior is contingent upon the situation, which can be broadly defined to encompass anything in the leader's environment.For example, one contingency factor that is found in almost every contingency theory focuses on the follower's personal characteristics. Other common contingency variables include: the nature of the task, the nature of the work group, the organization's culture, and the amount of power the leader possesses. Each theory incorporates specific factors based on what factors the researcher felt were most important. There are many different contingency theories, but the textbook introduces the most important theories. Fiedler's Contingency TheoryThe first contingency theory introduced in the textbook ( pages 144-146) is Fiedler's Contingency Theory, or what is sometimes called â€Å"leader match† or â€Å"LPC theory. † In this theory, the contingent factors are 1) the leader's relationship wit h the group or follower, 2) how clearly defined or structured the task is that the person or group must perform, and 3) the amount of position power possessed by the leader. Dichotomizing these three variables results in eight possible combinations that range from little leader control to high leader control.The theory matches the leader's preferred style, either high task or high relationship, with one of the possible combinations. When the leader's style matches the existing situation, this should result in effective leadership. Fiedler's model is important because it was one of the first theories to highlight the contingent nature of leadership. While the research support is mixed for his theories, nevertheless Fiedler's theories were important in the development of leadership research. Another contingency theory developed by Fred Fiedler and his colleague Joseph Garcia is called the Cognitive Resource Theory.This theory describes how stress plays a key role in determining how a leader’s intelligence is related to group performance. These are the three points made by Cognitive Resource Theory. 1. Those leaders with greater experience but lower intelligence are like to have higher-performing groups under high-stress conditions. Or under low stress conditions – the leader’s experience e is less relevant. 2. Leaders with high intelligence are more valuable than an experienced leader when innovation is needed and stress levels are low. 3.The intellectual abilities of a leader who is experience stress will be diverted from the task at hand. As a result, measures of leader intelligence and competence do not correlate with group preference when the leader is stressed (New Approaches to effective Leadership: Cognitive Resources and Organizational Performance, 1987). Path – Goal Theory The next major contingency theory introduced in the textbook is path–goal theory, which is usually associated with Robert House's theories. While th ere are several variations of this theory, the book presents the most common version.Although the theory is relatively complex, it focuses on the followers and the situation, just like Fiedler's LPC theory. However, the important characteristics of the followers and the situation are different than in Fiedler's LPC theory. The contingency variables in path-goal theory are based on expectancy theory, one of the more powerful motivation theories. Because effective leaders must motivate followers, it makes sense to integrate a motivation theory with a leadership theory. Unlike many other contingency theories that focus on only two leader behaviors or styles, path-goal theory attempts to explain in which situations each of four ifferent leadership styles are most effective: directive, supportive, participative, and achievement oriented leadership styles. A newer version of the theory adds transformational leadership behaviors, but this is not covered in the book and you do not need to k now it for this course. Blanchard Situational Leadership Model The next leadership model, the Situational Leadership II model, is one of the most popular leadership models. Many companies train managers in this theory. The Situational Leadership model was specifically developed to simplify the complexity of most contingency theories (see Figure 5-4).As leadership theories become more complex, they also become more difficult for managers to use on a day-to-day basis. Accordingly ,Blanchard developed a simplified theory focuses only on the followers' characteristics. They concluded that the follower's readiness to perform a task is the most important contingency factor, even though there are many other relevant factors. Followers' â€Å"readiness† levels are comprised of their abilities and willingness to do a specific task. In this model, the leaders' behaviors are either task oriented or relationship oriented, which makes it similar to the Leadership Grid and Fiedler's LPC mo del.Although the logic of Situational Leadership's prescriptions is somewhat questionable, and the research support is somewhat weak, nevertheless this theory has had a big impact on management and leadership training. Blanchard subsequently developed a modified version of this Situational Leadership model that shares the same name, which can create confusion. Normative Decision Model The next contingency model introduced in the textbook is the Normative Decision Model proposed by Vroom and Yetton, and later modified by Vroom and Jago.As the name indicates, this theory attempts to prescribe the best type of decision-making in a given situation: autocratic, consultative, or group-based decision making. This is a contingency theory because the critical decision nodes or points in the theory reflect either a concern with the situation or with the followers. When diagrammed, the decision nodes or points in this model create a decision tree. Thus, this model is also referred to as the â €Å"decision tree model. † Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory Another perspective under the contingency approach is the Leader – Member Exchange (we will see this model again in Chapter 9).The textbook finishes with a short description of how top executives actually lead and a discussion of leading during a crisis. These two topic areas are descriptive, and lack the kind of theoretical reasoning found in other theories and they have very limited research support. According to the text, top executives perform multiple leadership styles, the choice of which depends on the situation (a contingency approach). All of the styles reflect some combination of strategic leadership and change leadership, with relatively little emphasis on motivating individual followers.In a sense, these styles are variations on the transformational leadership style discussed earlier in the textbook. Week 3 Instructor Notes Chapter 6 – Leadership, Ethics, and Social Responsibility This ch apter introduces the concepts of ethical and moral leadership behaviors. Whether you can prevent unethical or immoral behaviors by teaching ethics and morality is not clear. However, being aware of ethical and moral issues is valuable, if for no other reason to have students reflect on their own ethics and morality. The text has a multifaceted approach to ethics. To be ethical, you should: * Be honest and trustworthy (have integrity) Pay attention to all relevant stakeholders * Find compatible goals for all stakeholders (â€Å"build community†) * Respect individuals by treating them fairly and honestly * Demonstrate modesty and restraint in accomplishing moral victories (â€Å"accomplish silent victories†) Leaders, of course, differ in their morality and ethical nature. One of the more interesting ideas is that leaders' level of moral development varies (from pre-conventional, to conventional, to post-conventional levels). However, the situation can also have a large i mpact on the leader's behavior.Certain corporate cultures seem to ignore ethical issues, while others have extremely strong ethical values. There is a table outlining leaders who have questionable ethics, which will no doubt become longer over the near future. Whether leaders recently have become less ethical, or they are simply being detected and publicized more is an unanswered question. Corporate social responsibility is the next concept in the chapter. This refers to the idea that organizations, and thus their leaders, have an obligation to society beyond simply following laws and making money for owners and shareholders.This idea reflects an ethic, but goes beyond any simple ethical principle (see Figure 6-1 Initiatives for Achieving a Socially Responsible and Ethical Organization). As the book notes, the topic cannot be covered well in the space allotted, but being sensitive and responsive to the community and the employees is the key idea. Whether an organization should lose money to help the community and employees is the key issue. If the concept of a â€Å"virtuous circle† is correct, then there is no trade-off between profits and social responsibility because social and financial performance reinforce each others.Week 3 Discussion Description (click to collapse) Week 3 Discussion| Refer to the leadership styles shown on page 153 of the text (Figure 5-4 Situational Leadership II ). * What is your present style of leadership in most situations (directing, coaching, supporting and/or delegating)? * Is this leade

Facebooks Primary Activity

Facebooks Primary Activity It is imperative to avow that Facebook is amongst the most visited social group sites. Initiate by Mark Zuckerberg in 2003, this site has expanded exponentially in the last few years. Created with the help of fellow students, Facebook was initially used in Harvard University only and later in other colleges. Realizing that the primary activity of Facebook was to make comparison of students using their pictures, the university management ordered for its closure.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Facebooks Primary Activity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Mark was to face disciplinary measures for breaching rights to privacy. Harvard University later dropped any punitive action against Mark. In 2005, facebook rolled out internationally. This was the first step that made it a force in the social network industry. The roll out in high school gave way for corporation to register and finally face book opened up for members of the public to establish accounts. Controversy and uncertainty surrounded facebook from its inception and early years of operation. Mark’s schoolmates filled a lawsuit disputing his ownership on the basis that he borrowed their ideas, hence contravening the scholar Property Act. The judge ruled in favour of Mark, since agreements regarding this case occurred during the course of a casual chat, in the hostel that they could not constitute a legal contract. The Judge dismissed consequent attempts to bring this case back to court and opted for an out of patio settlement (Philips). Facebook mainly earns its revenues from advertisements and has become a multimillion company attracting the interest of other corporations in the digital industry. It is evident that facebook has advanced social networking; nonetheless, it has myriads of detrimental aspects in the contemporary society. The emergence of facebook in 2005 completely transformed the social network scene first in the US and then globally. The exponential growth of facebook was unprecedented and left many people startled. Debate arising from dismissal of the case disputing facebook ownership on basis of technicality, only served to popularise the site. This social phenomenon has opened new advertising avenues and further reduced the cost of interaction between the global communities, as it charges no fee. In view of the above, facebook users need to be cautious not to be addicted or socially isolated due to prolonged use. Face book’s inadequate applications have opened doors for contravention of privacy rights with regard to users’ information. Users with ill intentions have used facebook to steal identity of innocent unaware users and utilize it to commit crime. Development of children occurs best when they are in constant communiquà © with their parents but facebook has turned this impossible by making young people very dependent on digital media as their core means of commun ication rather than in person conversations.Advertising Looking for research paper on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Research reveals that most children avoid in person conversations due to prolonged use of online media to communicate. Facebook has no control as to the content communicated on the network, hence it is subject to misuse .Many blogs through which people interact exercise control over the message that users send over the blog, ensuring sanity on those blogs and enforcing discipline. On many incidences, facebook has acted as a platform to spread panic based on unverified information. Exaggerated news of the rapid spread of swine flu caused a lot of panic and social sites like facebook were at fault for magnifying the spread of the disease. Facebook administration should set up measure to ensure that unscrupulous members do not use their accounts to spread panic, this in effect that innocent users get protection from the infringements. Information is power, with facebook having over 400 million members who created profiles that contain personal details then it has incomprehensible power. Facebook contains a large amount of user information that is susceptible to misuse. It is dangerous to leave such a large volume of information that contains private details of millions of individuals with an entity that faces minimal regulations like facebook. From analysis done on several accounts, it is possible to tell the sexuality of person based on the friends in facebook, it is; therefore, important to protect personal details (Bankston). Various consumer protection organisations have aired their concerns over the ease with which a user can illegally gain access to other accounts. Not only does it expose the account holder to manipulation but also infringes on the person’s right to privacy. Face book took some far-reaching measures to prevent infringement of pri vacy rights. It rolled out fresh privacy settings, which were supposed to give account holders more control over their data. Prior solitude settings were too complex for the average users of facebook to understand. The new facebook settings were a good start for the administration in the overhaul of its privacy settings. Such settings have integrated novel features that allow a user to limit the people that can view a certain piece that the use has uploaded. However, the most encouraging thing is that the site has taken up the challenge of ensuring that its users apply these new settings to their accounts (bankston). Though the new settings received a lot of applause, they have not gone without criticism. Most experts think that the developers of these settings have only made the situation dire, as users with ill motives will always find their way round (bankston).Overall, the commitment of facebook to protecting its user’s information is questionable. Facebook avails to its users, many activities that are fun to be involved in, which include discussions, charting and creation of groups. As a result, facebook users spend extra periods in front of their computers thus eating into time reserved for extra curriculum and social activities (Bozarth 56).Therefore most users are addicted. The young generation that has emerged has been characterised by poor one-on-one conversation, impaired speeches and being self-absorbed. These traits are attributable to the enormous time spent online.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Facebooks Primary Activity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The consequences of long hours spent online are far reaching as most students’ grades have diminished greatly. Many account holders on facebook do not divulge their identity. Such persons are faceless on their account and provide minimal information as to their character, background and perspective on maj or issues; therefore, most friendship resulting from interaction on facebook have roots in stereotypes. Making friends based on stereotypes is inappropriate as the true personality of the person is undisclosed. Most young people are oblivious of the dangers of such actions. Facebook opponents have criticised it for not doing enough to eliminate faceless members whose accounts look questionable. As any other credible institution, facebook should thoroughly screen its members. Proficiency of young people in using media whose background information is unknown has startled many media specialist who have called upon media users to be cautious. Critics have further argued that facebook has resulted in a new form of addiction in children because they on average spend six hours online. Children below eighteen are most affected and many calls have advised facebook to limit its membership to only those above eighteen years. This call has brought to the forefront the social responsibility of f ace book. In spite of the many flaws, facebook is definitely a social network phenomenon. It has further opened communication lines amid many people given its membership of over 400 million users (Bozarth 55). It has facilitated this by a feature called friend request. The feature enables the invited users to communicate. Face book further diversified the social scene by challenging the dominance of the traditional social media. No one can assume the impact of facebook as business people who are not members are a liability to the trade. Facebook is very trendy amid young people as result opening avenues for advertisers who target young people. The interaction of people on facebook has resulted in cultural exchange (Bozarth 55). Political movements have also used it to spread political messengers. Facebook has become the best means to reach the younger age band. Facebook’s main targets were young people, High school and University students, as indicated in the first rollout th at targeted this group (Philips). Facebook is a very appealing social complex particularly to University students and teenagers. It allows them to exchange ideas on their lives, interest and on school life. The social state of facebook and the swiftness at which information dispersed makes it fascinating. There is a false notion among the young naive users that their personal details are secure .This is not the case as their private details get exposed to people who gain illicit access.Advertising Looking for research paper on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Scammers use the illegally obtained data to manipulate the purchasing trends of the users to the benefit of certain organisations. Young people spend a lot of time communicating on facebook and some of the comments made on face book are inappropriate. Furthermore, facebook facilitate the promotion of some appalling believes like masonry. Members of these cults form social groups and use them to foster the values of their cults. These groups target susceptible users and use the site as the platform for their recruitment. It has contributed considerably to the current state of moral degradation. Issues that generate uproar on debate, get a suitable discussion platform on face book. The discussions elicit some awful comments whose moral uprightness is questionable. Innocent young people read such comments daily; the culmination of a prolonged reading of such appalling comment is youthful people with immoral values. Most of these discussions relate to issue like homosexuality and masonr y that are controversial in most society. Mark devised facebook, a site that has come to dictate communal networking in recent years (Philips).From early on, facebook was faced by success and controversy. Popularity among the youth has led to its hasty growth. Lack of privacy seems to be its major undoing as alterations in such settings only resulted in an uproar. The administration of this site has heeded calls to put in place settings that will protect the users’ details. In absence of proper security settings facebook has served as an avenue to commit crime such as impersonation, spreading panic and manipulation. To counter these acts the administration should overhaul privacy settings in totality to conform to the solitude legislation. Besides, the administration should exercise discretion over the members eligible to avoid suspicious individuals. Although, facebook has facilitated easier and cheaper communication to many people, users must be cautious about the members t hey interact with on the net and reserve time for other activities to avoid addiction. Finally, the administration should receive credit for embracing calls to overhaul their privacy settings. Bankston, Kevin. New privacy changes: The good, the bad and the ugly. 2009. Web. Bozarth, Jane. Social Media for Trainers: Techniques for Enhancing and Extending Learning .SAN FRANCISCO, CA. John Wiley and sons, 2010. Print. Philip, Sarah. A brief history of Facebook. The Guardian. 2007. Web.