Billy Budd By Herman Melville Essays (554 words) - Billy Budd

Billy Budd By Herman Melville Today's society as well as the majority of our schools can definitely improve on how it encourages creativity and individuality in today's youth. A lot of the time, it's hard to do this, but with smaller classrooms, more qualified and devoted teachers, and more cooperation from the students, everyone's needs could be met, and students would receive a better education. Many of today's schools have no tolerance for anything that may go against the ?norm.? Schools today can allow for individuality and differences in students, but they either choose not to or are not aware that anything is wrong with the way they do things. In Melville's, Billy Budd, there are examples of this stifling of individuality. The crew members on board the ?Avenger? are made to all conform and follow orders without question. Through Claggart, the men's individuality and rights as people are taken away through fear. No matter what anyone is trying to accomplish, satisfying everyone is almost always impossible. It is no different in today's school system, satisfying everyone is difficult. Students are not allowed to express themselves as freely as they should. This is not the case in all schools, but it is Especially since incidents like those at Columbine High School, schools now view acts of individuality and creativeness as those of malicious intent. There is a kind of intolerance for those who act differently from the majority. Ever since the two boys from Columbine murdered their classmates, everyone has been extremely cautious about everything from actual death threats, to mere heated discussion between classmates. It is almost to a point of overkill. How much regulation is too much regulation? In order for schools to be able to accommodate for everyone and their individual needs, they must first not punish students for being different from the majority. After there is an acknowledgment of the individuality of students, then you can start to help them learn better and on their own levels. If a student has no aspirations whatsoever to go to college, then after some persuasion for them to reconsider, they should not be expected to complete and be graded on the same set of requirements as other students. If a person is not as ?capable?, or rather does not choose to use their abilities to their fullest, then they should be graded on what they are able to do, not what other people are capable of and what they are expected to be capable of. I know that this would be difficult to do because some people might choose the easy way out and intentionally not work on the level that they are capable of. But in order for this to work, teachers must trust the students and if they say they are doing their best, then odds are, the students is actually trying their hardest. Schools could be a lot more effective, I think, if they would just comply with the needs of the individual students. There is definitely a way for students to be able to be treated as individuals, and still have the entire student body happy. This is a very difficult task to accomplish, but if all the groups work together, it can be accomplished and students can be treated as individuals, rather than the entire student body. English Essays

Alexander the Great.

Alexander the Great. ALEXANDER THE GREATAlexander the Great was seen as a genius and the greatest conqueror of the classical times. He played many parts and was able to distinguish between those in everyday life. There is a wide variety of components involved with this leader but will focus on his background, cultural contributions, social conflicts, and the claim that he is a genius.Alexander was born in 356 B.C.E., the son of Phillip II and Olympias of Macedon. He was crowned Prince when he was being tutored by Aristotle, who trained him in rhetoric and literature that stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy. Alexander was first married to Roxanne in 327 B.C.E. and second to Barsine in 324 B.C.E., he bore no children with either wife. After his father was assassinated in 336 B.C.E., he became the King of Macedon and later the King of Asia. Alexander also founded Alexandria, after completely defeating the Persians at the battle of Arbela in 331 B.C.E.Alexander Muir Public School, To ronto, 1902 [OHQ-P...slaves. Alexander's next attempt was to defeat Persia. He could never be the dominantforce in his area as long as the Persian ruler Darius was still living. After beating Persiathe second and final time in 332, Darius, who managed to survive, fled to the mountains.He died in the mountains when one of his own noblemen killed him. With Darius dead,Alexander was crowned King of Persia and became known as the king of all Asia.Babylon surrendered after Gaugamela, and the city of Susa with its enormous treasureswas soon conquered. Then, in midwinter, Alexander forced his way to Persepolis, thePersian capital. After plundering the royal treasuries and taking other rich booty, heburned the city during a drunken binge and thus completed the destruction of the ancientPersian Empire. His domain now extended along and beyond the southern shores of...

Internal Conflict in Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Internal Conflict in Germany - Essay Example The sudden increase in foreign population triggered aggressive reactions perpetrated particularly by factions of youthful males who opposed the idea. Practically, they must have envisioned the probability of multicultural divergence. Subsequently, conflict intensified between right-wing extremist and the migrants, and the right-wing-extremist and the destitute of the former West Germany (Ewald and Feltes, 2002). The negative impact of the aggressive acts of factions was boldly expressed in: first, the creation of a commission on immigration which is tasked to see to the appropriate immigration procedures and reduce further questions on clandestine entry, as well as additional unnecessary inflow; secondly, tourist would practically be staying away from areas where there are known clashes; third, prospective investors would not dare take the risk of pouring in money in areas where there is existing collision among antagonist groups; and fourth, a negative image of the country as a whole is projected internationally because of internal conflict (Ewald and Feltes, 2002). Looking at this situation objectively and intellectually, the antagonist must make a strong decision on whether they would like to keep living in a nation of turmoil and decay, or they would rather enjoy living in a community of an actively functioning economy.

Quantitative Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quantitative Techniques - Essay Example The social and economic scenario is in the constant process of undergoing change and is influenced by a number of external factors. As such, there are numerous controllable and uncontrollable parameters that today’s decision makers need to take care of in order to prepare a careful course that can navigate through all idenfied obstacles. If adopted, qualititative, well-structured and a well-planned business forecasting effort can yield the desired results. As such, apart from feeling the need to forecast, it is also very important to plan the forecasting process with great precision (John E. Hanke, Arthur G. Reitsch, 1989). The rise in the growth and use of computing power to perform calculations has gained immense popularity among users. As such, with a good forecasting plan, one can easily perform the required analysis in a short time. Forecasting is used to identify a number of patterns that are deemed important to a company’s interests. It could include attributes such as the performance of stocks over a time period, pattern of sales, prices of essential raw materials, employee satisfaction surveys etc. a company can immensely benefit from business forecasting as these enable it to analyze its performance across various domains and also helps it compare itself amongst other competitors in the market. It enables the company to identify the segments that are not performing according to expectations and paves the way for adopting suitable solutions to overcome them. As the economy is dynamic in nature, there is an ncreasing need to prepare the future map in advance, which emphasizes the need fo r business forecasting. In the recent years, business forecasting has adopted an extensive scientific flavor that includes the fusion of various business theories and techniques to forecast specific types of data. It can involve procedures as simple as spreadsheets to massive database networks that are performing trillions of

Analysis Of Strategic Changes Of Tata Steel Group Marketing Essay

Analysis Of Strategic Changes Of Tata Steel Group Marketing Essay Figure 1 Tata Steel currently is a major player in global steel industry. In year 2005 (Figure 1), Tata Steel operation was mainly focused in Indian subcontinent and revenue generated was close to US$ 5.0 billion only. However their initiative to expand their operations globally proved very successful over last five years. From being a mere local steel producer, they transformed themselves into a major global player in steel producers (Figure 2). They have been aggressively involved in capacity expansion by acquisitions and organic growth. Business Standard once commented that Tata Steel moved into its next target to become the worlds second largest steel company by 2012 with the help of its most expensive bet worth US$ 12.9 billion on Corus Group. Figure 2 Table 1: Worlds Top Ten Steel Producing Nations (in million tonnes) Last two years has been very difficult period to global steel industry because of worldwide recession. The global crude steel production for year 2009 was 1220.0 mpta (million tonne per annum) as reported by World Steel Association lower by 8% against that of 2008. The decline in demand was due to deterioration in economy experienced by key steel end users. Table 1, shows the growth/decline in terms of crude steel production for the top ten steel producing nations. However, by acquisition of Corus and other assets, Tata Steel now ranks among worlds top ten (Table 2) largest steel producers with current steel production capacity of 32.0 mpta. After five years of its expansion programme, Tata Steel is now worlds second most geographically diversified steel producers. Table 2: World Top Ten Steel Producing Companies Mission Statement In its mission statement Tata Steel expresses that while honesty and integrity are the essential ingredient of a strong and stable enterprise, profitability provides the main spark for economic activity. Founded way back in 1907, Tata Steel stress on their core ideology in its vision statement by making emphasis on their people, supplier of choice, innovative approach and their conduct. Tata Steels vision statement is now became a tangible asset, which provide right direction to their managers and employees. Tata Steel has highly skilled employee asset of 81,000 spread over five continents. Tata Steel stress on creating differential value for their customer with help of continuous improvement in their business process and product technology. Value Chain Analysis The value chain is an economic tool used to determine the strategic resources available to a company. Basic principle of the Value Chain Analysis is that the basis for a competitive advantage of a firm lies primarily in the application of the bundle of valuable resources at the firms disposal. To transform a short-run competitive advantage into a sustained competitive advantage requires that these resources are heterogeneous in nature and not perfectly mobile (Barney, 1991, p105-106; Peteraf, 1993, p180). Effectively, this translates into valuable resources that are neither perfectly imitable nor substitutable without great effort (Barney, 1991, p117). Tata Steel has few major strategic capabilities which are valuable, unique and non-substitutable. Tata Steels Strategic Capabilities Tata Steels strategic capabilities are presented in Table 3, below. Table 3 Resources Competences Threshold Capabilities Threshold Resources Threshold Competences Steel production plants at various geographical locations. Production and Sales management. Offices and buildings at various geographical locations. All other general management skills. Sufficient supply of raw materials for steel making. Sophisticated IT skills. Sufficient cash flow. Safety management. Pool of skilled personnel. Excellent customer service. IT System in place. Efficient management structure. Logistic, freight and shipment facilities. Effective employee welfare system. Capabilities for Competitive Advantage Unique Resources Unique Competences Varieties of products which caters to industries like Infrastructures, Automobiles, Aviation, Energy etc. Very competent sales team with high negotiation skills which create market for their products. Tata and Corus brands. Excellent use of IT systems for very effective use in sales process. Highly capable management team. Continuous developing and upgrading new products to serve different industry levels. Online portal Metal junction for buyers. Highly skilled managers and directors who improve and support the company success. A century experience in steel making. Integrated supplier and buyer management. Strong financial backing from group. Lowest cost steel producer in world. Very strong presence in India which is a big market for their products. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) to eliminate risk associated with various processes. First mover advantage through innovative products processes. Continuous Improvement Process (CIP). Excellent RD for cutting edge technology and products. Operational efficiency and excellent quality control. Many proprietary products such as Tata Tiscon etc. Long-term relationship with buyers and suppliers. Porters Five Forces Analysis Tata Steel has registered double digit growth in past few years except their European business. By applying Porters Five Forces analysis principal, we can evaluate the Tata Steels market competitiveness and its current and future strategy towards intense competition faced at various fronts. Threat of New Entrants: Low Threat to new entrants in any industry sector is a major challenge. However in steel industry entry barrier is high hence threat of new entrants are relatively low based on factors such as huge capital investment, economies of scale, government policies and product differentiations. Steel industry requires huge capital investment to set up an integrated steel production facility plant which is currently close to US$ one billion/mtpa as per Steel Manufacturers Associations recent estimate. This deters any new entrants entering in this field. By increasing their production capacity to 50mtpa and wide variety of products they can lower their cost, hence more profit, sustainability and these conditions are unfavourable to any new entrants. Raw material is a major issue with corruption related to mining allocation and land acquisition, it makes difficult to new entrants to come in this field. Various regulatory clearance and environmental issues also pose big barriers to new entrants. Entry barriers in terms of product differentiation are very low in steel industry. Competitive Rivalry: High The steel industry is truly global in terms of competition with large steel producing countries like China significantly influencing global prices through their aggressive exports. In steel industry, branding is not very common hence little differentiation exists between their competing products. Tata Steel faces stiff competition with their competitors such as Arcelor Mittal, POSCO etc. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: High Tata Steel enjoys greater autonomy in raw materials supply as they own mines for raw material supply. Tata Steels fully integrated supply chain system keeps abundant supply of raw material for their plants. However, other steel producers, who dont have their own mines, have to rely on raw material suppliers. On global level raw material market is dominated by the three mining giants BHP Billiton, CVRD and Rio Tinto. They make mineral market as oligopolistic and supply two-thirds of the processed iron ore to steel producers hence command very high bargaining power. Other steel producers, who dont have their own mining operations, must buy raw material at market prevailing price and pass that hike to consumers which makes them less competitive. Threat of Substitute Products: Low New materials may pose threat to viability of steel. Aluminium, plastics and other composite materials are being considered as substitute in sectors like auto, aviation etc. Concrete is another substitute material that may pose threat to use of steel in infrastructure and energy sectors. Some of the substitute materials such as aluminium itself are very costly, hence doesnt pose very big threat against steel producers. However the growth led by infrastructure sector, automobile sector, aviation sector and consumable goods will keep demand up for steel hence more growth for Tata Steel. Bargaining Power of Buyers: Average Bargaining power of buyers is very limited due to their fragmentation. Big players of the major steel consumers in sectors such as auto, aviation, energy etc may squeeze greater amount of bargain. On the other hand these bulk consumers may offer long term procurement offer to the company hence more revenue generated. However, small and retail consumers are scattered, though they consume significant amount of steel production, dont have the same bargaining powers as in case of big players. Tata Steel Group SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis of any firm provides knowledge about the challenges and opportunities faced by Tata Steel group in future. They are detailed below. Strengths Tata Steel has acquired vast mineral reserves which is a key to their operations. These reserves can cater their raw material demand for next three decades. Tata Steels mineral reserves are located at various strategic geographical locations such as India, Australia, Canada, Mozambique, Oman, Ivory Coast etc. Tata Steel has very capable, credible and reliable top management. Their successful global expansion plan in last five years proved this. Tata Steel has successfully acquired and integrated Corus Europe, NatSteel Indonesia and Millennium Steel Thailand. Tata Steel uses custom made state of art integrated information management system for their routine operation. Their advanced RD capability has improved further by acquiring Corus which is world renowned for its product innovation. Tata Steel uses Tata Groups strong distribution and retail network. Its Groups demand for steel is very high due to their presence in most of the sectors. Currently Tata Steel produces 32 mpta of steel and by completion of DPCL project its total capacity will reach to 50mpta which will make it second biggest steel producer in world. Tata Steel has structured risk management process in place in their operation known as Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). ERMs key function is to identify risk at every level and mitigate the same. Tata Steel mitigates very well the cyclicality situation which occurs in steel industry occasionally by its broad spectrum of its product portfolio. Tata Steel expansion plan has consolidated its position worldwide and by diversifying its portfolio and market is in process to become a pioneer in steel industry. Tata Steel has very strong brand value for its products. This has strengthened further by acquiring Corus which itself is a big brand. Their successful integration with Corus was a benchmark in corporate history. Weakness Tata Steels substantial debt burden of US$9.8 billion is a major weakness. Their debt equity ratio is currently 1.77, which reflects company finances are met by debt due to Corus acquisition. Its European business (Corus) has a high exposure to spot price and a high operational gearing thus creating very high risk of price volatility. Tata Steel relies for some raw material on international suppliers, which expose their profitability in case of steep rise in their prices. Tata Steels Indian operation is very much hampered by lack of infrastructure, shortage in power supply, lesser productivity, bureaucratic hurdle in export etc. Additional levies and tax imposed by local government put them in less profit making situation. The subsidies provided by some nations (China etc) will make their product less competitive in price hence reduce their demand. Opportunities Currently the emerging economies are undergoing huge infrastructural developments, which require significant amount of steel in all sectors. In India the scope for expansion of its steel products are enormous in every sector, which Tata Steel can exploit very well with its increased production capacity. As per World Steel Association estimate, the consumption of steel will be doubled in next two decades. By Acquiring Corus and improving its own RD activities, Tata Steel moved towards a better product differentiation and enhanced product portfolio which provide them new opportunities over its competitors. Their geographical locations with integrated operations and marketing strategy are a key factor in capturing market share and increasing their financial performance. They can implement Coruss advanced automation technology in their own plants to improve productivity, economies of scale, cost reduction, increased output and operational efficiency to achieve better performance. Following recent recession, various assets (minerals, plants facilities etc.) are available at a very low price due to their financial difficulty. Tata Steel, with strong backing from its parent group can secure future supplies of raw materials for steel making. With increased steel production capacity of 50 mpta, they will be the second largest steel manufacturer after Arcelor Mittal and most geographically diversified company with wide variety of product mix. Threats Steel Industry is major source of greenhouse gas emission, which makes them very vulnerable against many litigation and legislation in future. The raw materials used in steel production are non-renewable and their source is depleting very fast. Due to rising cost of steel products, the end users are looking for substitutes of steel; which can be a major threat to Tata Steels business. Intense competition among international steel player and cheap steel available from China are another major threat to Tata Steels performance. Tata Steels huge debt is one of major threats against them. The rising interest will increase their debt burden. Future Outlook Following two years of worst global economic downturn, the world seems to be regaining some economic stability. There is moderate growth from developed world; however emerging economies are registering very strong and sustainable growth with robust domestic market. Before recession, the steel demand was very strong with over 6% growth during last decade; this is primarily driven by robust growth in BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), South East Asia and Middle East. By 2025, as per forecast BRICS countries will have 46% of global population and will consume 65% of the global production and will have three quarter of the global GDP. The raw materials for steel making are going at record due to high demand, higher freight rates and monopoly of three big natural resources companies. The effects of the above factors are reflected in higher steel price and decrease in profit margin of steel companies. However Tata Steels strategy adopted over last five years for securing long term contract for raw materials supply or acquiring new raw material mines at various geographical location has helped them to keep their prices competitive and making whole operation as viable. Tata Steels integration with Corus has completed successfully and producing better result than expected. Tata Steels strategic effort of capacity expansion and effort to secure raw materials source at various geographical locations yielding positive results. Tata Steels upstream integration process ambition will lead them to achieve 100% self-sufficiency in India and around 50% self-sufficiency in Europe in next 5 years. Tata Steel is investing heavily in RD to get breakthrough technologies and develop new products and services that reduce the production cost and environmental impact over the product lifecycle. To improve its processes, priority is given to energy conservation schemes; in technology break-through such as Ultra Low Carbon Steel making and in other innovative projects where the Group has proprietary technology. Conclusions It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, this famous quote meant a lot to Tata Steel. Five year back, just after starting of their ambitious global expansion plan, they were hit by worldwide financial tsunami which tested their resilience. Their well formulated and proved business strategy has shown resilience and ability to withstand the unprecedented highs and lows of a future that often comes unheralded. They have taken proactive initiative across all geographies to minimise aftermath shock of recession. Their strategy began to pay off towards the last quarter of year 2009, when they rebounded to profit after the turmoil of recession. Undeterred by the economic turbulence, the Company continued to place emphasis on working practices in health, safety and corporate citizenship, with specific initiatives taken in all these areas. In addition, a continued focus on engineering solutions for customers is helping it maintain its position of a product pioneer. Tata Steel believes in staying alert to future opportunities while never letting go of its core values. This is the philosophy that has underpinned its growth over the years and one that remains its key driving force. The strategy adopted by Tata Steel during last five years to become a global player paid off. They increased their revenue and production by six fold by capacity expansion or acquisition. They achieved raw material self-sufficiency of 50% by year 2010 and by year 2012 they aim to increase it to 60% by more investment in mines acquisition. In last five years Tata Steel became a global player from a local steel producer with currently global presence in 50 markets and manufacturing operations in 26 countries. Appendix A: Reference List Tata Steel Group Annual Report 2009-10 G Johnson, K Scholes R Whittington (2008), Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th Edition Text Cases, Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall http://www.tatasteel.com Barney, J. 1991. Firm Resources and sustained competitive advantage, Journal of Management, 17 (1): pp99-120. Barney, J.1995. Looking inside for competitive advantage, Academy of Management Executive. 9(4). Pp49-61. Peteraf, M. A. (1993). The cornerstones of competitive advantage: A resource-based view, Strategic Management Journal, 14 (3), 179-191 Porter, M.E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy, Harvard Business Review, January, 78-93. Porter, M.E. (1996). What is Strategy? Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec, 61-78.

The Deaf Identitiy

The Deaf Identity Ones sense of self, or perception of one’s self, is put together throughout the childhood years; relating to any number of characteristics. These could be gender identity, racial identity, involvement in academics, involvement in sports, and many others. These are some of the key parts to building one’s identity, or the understanding of one’s unique characteristics and how they have been, are, and will be manifested across ages, situations, and social roles.But what happens when a part of your identity is associated with your ability to hear or not. How does one establish a healthy identity of themselves when most the views of hard-of-hearing or deafness is negative? One study conducted in South Africa concluded that the deaf identity is not a static concept; but that it is a complex ongoing quest for belonging, bound up with the acceptance of being deaf and â€Å"finding one’s voice† in a hearing dominate society (McIlroy & Storbe ck, 2011).This concept correlates more with James Marcia’s Theory of Identity Achievement over Erik Erikson’s fifth stage of psychosocial development based on the fact that sometimes the Deaf identity does not develop until post-adolescence, even in children who were born deaf. Marcia’s theory acknowledges that sometimes the quest for one’s identity can span one’s lifetime, therefore also breaking Erikson’s rigid rules of the identity developing in adolescence.When the Deaf identity has been developed it too has a range of meaning for those involved in the process. In the South Africa study, it was founded that there are four static identities; deaf, Deaf, negative/ambiguous, and bicultural Deaf. These identities are formed through a myriad of experiences. Whether the child was born to a hearing family, born to a Deaf family, went to school in a mainstream hearing school, or attended a Deaf school, and the person’s personal preferred method of communication.Many Deaf children of Deaf families are born into a household of signing and of knowledge of the Deaf culture; this person most likely will assume the Deaf Identity. This person will experience the least amount of crisis when it comes to identity. But being a Deaf child of a Deaf adult is such a low occurrence that coming to this identity is not that easy. There are three general factors, for deaf children, which directly link to their identity; the attitudes of the parents, the mode of communication which aides in the social interaction with family and later ith peers, and the child’s linguistic competence (Kossewska, 2008). The first few years of a child’s life are the most critical for development and begin to reinforce the general factors that impact their identity. A deaf child born to hearing parents may struggle with language and literacy development most of their life. If their parents choose to enroll their child in a mainstream school and stress oralism, then the child will have a more negative view of their deafness due to the struggles they go through to obtain spoken language.This may lead to a ‘negative/ambiguous’ or ‘deaf’ identity because the person does not truly identify with their deafness as a part of who they are. Another deaf child born to hearing parents could end up in a deaf school, where the child will learn a signed language and maybe the family will take classes as well. With a child who is not struggling to obtain language and letting their life happen as it happens, is more likely to accept their deafness as a part of who they are and develop a ‘bicultural Deaf’ or a ‘Deaf’ identity, depending on how influential the hearing family is.And a child born into a Deaf family with proud Deaf identities will likely go to a Deaf school and develop the same Deaf identity as their family. A study done in Poland with 67 deaf adolescents and 93 hearing ch ildren were asked â€Å"Who Am I? † to investigate the factors influencing the deaf identity in adolescence. While â€Å"it was found that deaf adolescents used more descriptions especially in the following categories: Civil Status, Body and Physical Appearance, Taste and Activities, Friendship and Relationships, Personal and Social Situations, Negative Personal Traits, and Neutral Personality Traits.Deaf adolescents use as many abstract concepts to describe themselves as the hearing do, but they use more negative personal traits† (Kossewska, 2008). Why is it that the Deaf children are harder on themselves than the hearing? Is this a blatant clue that society as a whole looks down on this group of people and even the children can feel it? Children have been known to feel anger and resentment towards their hearing parents for forcing oralism upon them when there was a world of people just like them out there.A strong sense of heritage and feeling of belonging can develo p when children are a part of a community they can identify with. Sadly this doesn’t always happen in the earlier stages of life. This is also where one may go through an identity crisis and shift from ‘deaf’ to ‘Deaf’ or ‘bicultural. ’ â€Å"In discussing how bicultural identities may be understood, Ladd defines Deafhood as a process of claiming one’s Deaf identity with dignity† (McIlroy & Storbeck, 2011). In the South Africa study, all of the participants were 23 years of age and older; the oldest being 55 years old.In the study, all those who were born to hearing families, attended mainstream schools, but learned SASL (South African Sign Language) identified themselves deaf, but not until later in life. Those who never learned SASL, or any other signed language, never identified themselves with their deafness and had a negative/ ambiguous identity. Lastly, those born Deaf to Deaf families identified as Deaf. Not one part icipant in this study identified them self as Bicultural, but that is not to say it doesn’t exist. The establishment of the Deaf Identity is a tricky and sometimes rocky path for the majority of children who identify as deaf.They have so many hurdles to overcome in their journey to establishing their own identity that is one with who they are. From family life, to socialization, to academics, to identifying with their hearing loss or not, these people work hard and might experience more identity crises than average hearing person. But once they have established that identity there is no doubt that it has something to do with their hearing status. It would be a better world to spread the word about the Deaf Community to help the future to identify with their Deafness.

Leadership Approach Essay

Various theoretical approaches have been conducted to determine the impact of leadership and the key attributes of effective leaders. The five research approach comprise of the trait approach, behavior approach, power-influence approach, situational approach, and integrative approach. Although each approach has its merits and issues, the focus of this paper will be the situational approach. Overview The situational leadership approach views leadership in relation to a specific context. The study suggests that for every situation a specific leadership style is appropriate. In situational leadership, the factors that affect the leadership style include the situation, the organization, the followers, the timing and the nature of work (Yukl, 2010). By assessing these factors, leaders make decisions on their leadership style. In addition, situational leadership has two subcategories. The first one reviews the similarity or differences of leadership within an organization. This study involves using comparison between situations and the differences or similarities between approaches. The second study evaluates the correlation between leadership traits, skills and attributes to leadership effectiveness (Yukl, 2010). Finally, the study by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard in 1969 provided a matrix of communication for use in this type of leadership. The matrix recommends the use of four influence competencies such as telling or directing, selling, delegating and participating. Each style is adapted to the follower’s maturity or competency. â€Å"The four styles suggest that leaders should put greater or less focus on the task in question and/or the relationship between the leader and the follower, depending on the development level of the follower† (Changing Minds, 2012). Strengths and Weaknesses The strength of the situational approach of research is that it provides a variety of study iterations, thus allowing for the researchers to control certain parts of the study. Moreover, the situation is observable and results are easy to understand. Thus the study provides flexibility and control in modifying various factors within the control situation. For instance, by manipulating a certain control situation, researchers can review the leaders’ reactions and methods to resolving the issues put forward. The weaknesses of using this approach are that it contains too many variables. Endless numbers of variables can be factored in to a situation and thus, can create confusion in the study. Moreover, the approach does not clearly distinguish between leadership and management and given a situation, managers can act as leaders and vice versa without further clarification. Examples of Situational Leadership Situational leadership exists in __________, a financial service firm, and the author’s current employer. Situational leaders use four influence competencies such as telling or directing, selling, delegating, and participating. Each style must be applied to the appropriate situation being affected and the audience or group being addressed (Changing Minds, 2012). The examples will be based on the author’s observations of her direct superior, the Senior Partner of the company, (â€Å"Eric†). As senior partner, Eric is in charge of the company’s strategic direction. Thus, he delegates authority to various skilled and competent individuals. In everyday business, Eric uses the delegating and participating style. He understands that the branch managers and senior staff are skilled to handle every day issues. However, in times of uncertainty and stress, for instance, the possible stock market decline, Eric shifts his style to more of a telling or directing style. This telling or directing style is typically used in lower competency and low trust group of followers. Even though Eric realizes that the senior staff members are well trained to handle stock market declines, Eric looks at the situation and modifies his behavior and communication style to a more directive leadership. Conclusion The situational approach in studying leadership provides an overview of the use different traits, skills and communication styles in order to fit into the situation. Although this approach has its merits and weaknesses, it is the most widely used leadership study. Regardless of the approach used in study or leadership style, the most important factor is the leader’s accountability for the outcome of the decisions made. Reference Changing Minds, (2012), Hersey and Blanchard’s Approach, Retrieved from: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/situational_leadership_hersey_blan chard.htm Yukl, G. A. (2006). Leadership in organizations (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.